The Hellish Life of a HalfBlood
by Alli Elizabeth
Summary: The Little Vampire: A very lonely girl has moved to Scotland, but things aren't any better here than they were at home. Things are, unknown to her, about to take a turn for the better. This girl is you. Gregoryxoc Gregoryoc Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

You wipe the remaining tears from your eyes, as your foster-mother locks your door and stomps down the hall. You grab your striped arm-warmers and slip them over your scarred, burned, and bruised arms. Your long, faded jeans cover your scratched legs. A black tee-shirt covers the worst of your scars. You take your cell-phone from the nightstand, shut it off, and slip it into your satchel, which clings to your black belt. Black sneakers on, brown, highlighted hair pulled into a clip, you open your window silently. You glance at the clock. 8:56. Moving quickly, you stand on the ledge and re-close your window from the outside. You turn and leap from the ledge, dropping two stories. Upon landing, you stand up straight, unharmed. You walk towards the fence and slip through the bars, almost like a cat. Once through, you walk, hands in your pockets, towards your favorite place. The cemetery.

You hate your life right now. You had lived in an orphanage for a while, but recently, you were 'adopted' (more like enslaved) by Maria and Carl Jacobs. They both use you like a servant, make you do everything, and, worst of all, they're both abusive. Maria's verbally abusive, though she'd never hurt you physically. All of your scars are from Carl. Not a day goes by without you earning a few new ones. They say you're worthless, and a freak.

A freak, well, that much you believed.

You aren't human, not fully anyway. Sure you look normal, but that can change if you will it. In short, you're a dhampir, a.k.a. a half-vampire. You have all the abilities of a vampire, like strength, flight, the ability to drink blood, but none of the weaknesses. Though you prefer the dark, the sun has no effect on you. You can live without drinking blood, and you can eat and drink what humans do. Also, if you are ever bitten by a vampire, you go completely unaffected. The bite-marks would disappear in minutes, and you wouldn't feel pain at all. All-in-all, you're above being normal, and have the heightened senses of a vampire.

You could always kill your foster-parents, but you believe that it would be wiser to endure the pain, rather than try to avoid the cops. Bobbies. Whatever. You have, however, admitted to yourself that you liked their idea of moving here to Scotland. It's quiet in the country where you live now, and the graveyard is within walking distance. You're never bothered there. Not like you have friends anyway. Nobody your age talks to you. You do have one friend, however. A little, nine-year old boy named Tony Thompson. You love him like a brother, and his parents are very nice.

You'd met Tony while walking past the park, where you'd seen him being bullied by the McAshton boys. You scared them off and got to know Tony a little bit. You walk him home from school, since your foster-parents didn't pay for you to go to school. You don't really care, though. You were always smarter than most adults. You read a lot.

So now, you're climbing skillfully over the cemetery gate, landing inside with a soft thud on the dead grass. It's around 9:05 and dark. You can see perfectly, courtesy of your dhampiric powers. You walk through the grounds, jumping over stones and weaving around grave markers. You feel something nearby, but disregard it, thinking it's a rabbit or something. You just keep walking, the thought of being paranoid nagging at you. After a few minutes, you feel it again. 'Someone's out there, no... There's more than one...' It's true. You can feel about three auras, two of them somewhat similar. It's the third one that interests you. It's... familiar. 'Wait a sec... that's-' then it hits you. Hard. 'Tony!' Your eyes widen in panic. 'His aura is strong, he's alright, but he's scared,' you think, as you take off running towards Tony's energy, hoping you aren't too late.


	2. Chapter 2

Your heart's going a mile a minute. Your feet are moving as fast as you can will them. You come to a clearing through the trees to be behind a tombstone. You look around it and see Tony, eyes wide behind his glasses, scrambling backwards. You can't see what he's looking at, but you know it's scaring him. That's all you need to know. You leap from behind the grave and land in front of Tony, ready to fight. You now see that you're face-to-face with... a guy.  
You look him over quickly. He's wearing black, baggy pants and a yellow and black striped shirt with a long trench coat over it. His hair is black and spiked on top, but it's long and half tied back behind his head. His eyes are dark and his skin is pale, like yours. He has black, fingerless gloves and dark combat boots. In your opinion, he's pretty hot...

You're snapped from your thoughts, however, when he suddenly asks, "Who are you? Another human?"

You scoff. "What's that supposed to mean? Hm?" you throw back. You look closely as he bares his teeth. 'Fangs? Then he's...' You lower your fists and blink at him before turning to Tony. "You okay, kiddo?" you ask, extending a hand to him.

He reaches up and grabs it, and you pull him to his feet almost effortlessly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," he answers.

You look him over and, seeing nothing wrong, turn back to the guy behind you.

"You never answered me, girl. Who are you?" he asks again.

"If you really must know, the name's _______," you reply, a little meaner than you'd meant.  
He just scowls, "Whatever, you humans don't belong here. Get lost."

This pisses you off. "Don't call me a human, Batboy," you fire back at him.

He looks at you, obviously confused. "But you _are _human, aren't you?" he sort-of asks.

You shake your head.

"Then what are you, girl?" he asks with curiously.

You hiss, "My name's not 'girl', it's _______."

"Excuse me, miss. But are you a friend of Tony's?" a new voice asks cautiously.

You tear your gaze from Spike, whose real name you still don't know, and see another vampire, about Tony's age in appearance. Also pale, he has red eyes and hair that sticks up all over the place. He comes closer slightly as you answer, "Yes, I am. Why? Who are you?"

"I'm Rudolph, Tony's-"

"Ah, so _you're _Rudolph, huh? Tony told me about you, can't say he ever mentioned you being a vampire, though..." you say with a smile. "Oh, and you can call me _______."  
"Don't trust her, Rudolph," the older vampire says.

Rudolph looks to him, "Calm down, Gregory. She's Tony's friend. We can trust her."

"Oh, so that's your name? Gregory?"

He just kinda glares at you, but nods slightly, still unsure.

You smile at him, sensing some of his hostility fading away. "Gregory then, I'm sorry I was so harsh before, but Tony's like my little brother. He was afraid, and I felt it, so I stepped in. Nothing personal or anything..." you say, trailing off a little at the end.

He just nods, "Yeah, sure. But, you dodged my other question. What are you?"

You sigh quietly, "I'm a dhampir; a half-vampire."

He looks taken back by your answer. "I didn't even think they existed anymore... Well, not around here at least..."

You shrug. You look up at the moon, trying to judge its position. "It's almost ten. You should be sleeping, Tony," you state.

"But _you_ don't have to sleep yet!" he argues.

You giggle and smile at him. "That's true, but 1) _I'm_ a dhampir; I don't need to sleep nearly as much as you do. 2) _I_ don't have school tomorrow. And 3) I'm older than you," you explain smartly.

Tony pouts, "But-"

"Three strikes, you're out, Tony," you finish.

Gregory smirks, while Rudolph laughs and steps forward. "I was the one who brought him here, so I'll bring him home, _______."

You nod in agreement, before Tony comes over and hugs you around your waist. You giggle and hug him back, "Night, kiddo. I'll see ya tomorrow after school," you tell him.

"Night, _______. See ya!" he exclaims, then he walks over to Rudolph and takes his hand.

You watch as they lift off the ground and take off, Tony smiling widely.

They fly out of your sight, and you hear a soft voice from behind you, "Gregory, dear, who's this?"  
You turn around to find two tall figures a few feet away. A woman with blonde hair in an odd style, wearing a green dress. You assume she was the one who'd spoken. Next to her is a man, also in aristocratic clothing, with his dark hair slicked back. Behind them, you notice, is a young girl with blonde hair, wearing a long, red dress. She appears around ten.

The man steps toward you, "Who are you, human? One of Rookery's spies?"

You take a step back, somewhat intimidated by how much taller than you this man is.

"Frederick, calm down. She doesn't look like a spy, really," the woman reasons.  
"Err, you can relax; I'm no spy. I'm a friend of Tony's, he's Rudolph's friend. And I'm not human, I'm a dhampir," you explain carefully. You mentally laugh, as their reactions are similar to how Gregory's was.

"I don't believe you. Prove it, if you're a true half-blood," the man, who you now know to be Frederick, protests.

You sigh, somewhat exasperatedly, but bare your fangs.

Gregory's eyes go wide, as do Frederick's.

He regains his composure and bows his head slightly towards you. "Forgive my rudeness, miss. We've had to be very cautious of late."

You smile softly and nod.

He continues, "I am Frederick Sackville-Bagg. This is Freda, my wife," he says, gesturing to the woman beside him.

She smiles daintily at you, "Hello, child. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

You smile back and bow your head a little.  
The little girl steps out from behind Freda. "I'm Anna, Rudolph's sister. It's nice to meet you," she says, smiling up at you.

You can't help but grin back, "Such a pretty young lady you are, Anna."

Her smile widens as she turns to Freda. "I like her, Mother! She's very pretty, and so kind!" she says excitedly.

"I'd have to agree, sister," you hear Gregory say.

Without realizing it, you blush slightly. Once the tint fades from your cheeks, you look to Frederick. "So, now that you know I'm here, and that I'm not a threat, would you mind if I were here for the night? I won't cause trouble, I promise."

He seemed a bit confused by your question, "What ever for, miss, err..."

"_______," you finish for him. "And, it's because I never sleep at home on Sunday nights."

He still seems a little unsure, but says, "I see... Well, I will not press the matter further as it is not my business. You are welcome here, if you wish, _______."

You smile, "Thank-you very much. I'll be off then, if that's alright," you say, bidding them a quick good-bye. Then, before any more questions pop up, you turn on your heel and dart off to find a nice, tall tree.


	3. Chapter 3

You come to a stop in another area full of tall, dead trees, which is perfectly fine, since that's what you were looking for. You move under one and leap up, landing on a thick branch. You sit sideways and dangle your feet over the side, but look up towards the moon. You let the silence lull you, though you will yourself not to sleep. The silence is broken by footsteps approaching on the ground. You look down and find Gregory wandering around beneath the tree you're in.

"Hey down there," you call to him. You laugh when he jumps in surprise.

He mock-glares at you and asks, "Why are you in a tree?"

You roll your eyes. "I'm a squirrel, Gregory. I live in this tree," you say, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

He shakes his head slightly.

"Care to join me?" you ask, tilting your head to the side a little.

He looks at you oddly, "Why?"

You shrug, "Dunno, you seem bored."

He rolls his eyes, but jumps up anyway, perching on the branch and sitting next to you. A few seconds of silence pass until Gregory speaks. "Why don't you go home on Sundays?" he asks out of nowhere.

You look at him, one eyebrow raised, "Umm... Random much?"

He sighs, "You're dodging again. So tell me, why?"

You give a tired sigh, "It's just routine, okay? When you've got foster-parents like mine, it's not safe-" You stop, realizing you've just said something you shouldn't have.

Gregory looks at you curiously. "What do you mean 'like yours'?"

Afraid of what you might let slip, you go to jump down, but Gregory grabs your arm.

You flinch in pain, as he'd gripped right where one of the scars is.  
He sees you wince, and before you can protest, he's pulled down the sleeve of one of your arm-warmers, revealing the bruises, cuts, and burns on your skin.

"Hey!" Your eyes widen as his narrow and meet yours.

"Where did you get these marks?" He's actually scaring you now. You're not about to tell him, but of course, he guesses. "Is this why you don't go home? Do _they_ do this to you?"

That's it, it's too much for you to handle.

You look away from him and shut your eyes tightly. Breaking free from his hold, you jump down from the tree and run behind another further away, trying to stop the tears that have sprung to your eyes. God, you hate crying like this. You don't even cry when you're beaten, but keeping it all in eventually gets to you and you break. It doesn't happen often, but one incident and it just becomes too much. Like now.

You can't stop the tears from falling. You cover up your face in an attempt to stop crying. You slide down the trunk of the tree, landing on your knees, your face still buried in your hands.

Someone crouches in front of you and takes one of your hands.

Your eyes shoot open in surprise, only to find Gregory looking back. You try to pull your hand away, but he stops you.

"Just let me see. I'm not gonna hurt you."

You, seeing sincerity in his eyes, only weakly nod and let him look at your uncovered arm. You just watch him as he examines the cuts and burns, tracing some of the scratch lines.

He sighs and quietly asks, "Does Tony know about this?"

"No, I thought it'd be better not to tell him. I don't want him worrying about me," you answer absently.

Gregory looks away from your arm up to your face. He looks at you for a moment before wiping away a few stray tears. "I won't say anything... But you should get out of that house, _______," he reasons.

"Why? It's not like I can't handle it. And I only have one place I can go, and they know about it. I only come here because my foster-parents have something against cemeteries, but they'll still come after me if I'm gone for too long," you state.

He exhales, frustrated, but looks back at you, "Then you can-" he's cut off by you putting a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! Listen..." you whisper. You remove your hand and concentrate on what you're hearing. The only audible sound is a faint rumbling sound from the distance.

"What is that?" Gregory asks in a hushed tone. His answer is a scream you both recognize almost immediately.

"Anna!" you both realize out loud.

Gregory shoots up from the ground and runs off towards the scream, you following right behind him, pulling your arm-sock's sleeve back up. After a little running, you arrive in the other clearing, only to be met with a somewhat strange sight.


	4. Chapter 4

In front of you is a rather ugly, large man. He's holding a neon cross up to the family of vampires, and judging by their auras, they're getting weaker. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Tony pull out the plug on the cross.

Finally snapping back from his observation, Gregory says loudly, "_____, take Tony and go with my family. Don't come out until I come get you. Go!"

You hesitate, but nod and run to grab Tony. Taking his hand, you take off towards the others. At a glance, you see that Freda is shaken, but mostly unharmed, Anna is extremely frightened, and Frederick... well, he's not doing too well.

Rudolph, in about the same state as his sister, leads you and Tony into an opening.

You usher the others in first, before following them inside.

Tony tugs on your hand, trying to get your attention. "That's him! That's Rookery, the vampire hunter!" he explains in a panic.

You nod in understanding, then make your way over to Frederick. You assume that his weakened condition is a result of protecting his family from the light of the cross. You sigh, then pull a small vial from your pocket. "Here, have him drink this; he'll get better fast," you tell Freda, handing her the bottle.

She gives you a questioning look, but complies.  
You begin wonder what's going on with Gregory and that Rookery dude. You move under a small hole and leap up, hanging on the edge. You hoist yourself up enough to peek outside, to find Rookery standing there with some huge flashlight. You can barely feel Gregory's aura anymore. You grit your teeth and rise out of the hole. Anger flowing through you, you run full speed at the hunter and jump-kick Rookery from behind.

Obviously startled, he drops the light, leaving it to smash harshly on the ground. He turns and scowls at you, "Another brave one, eh? Well let's see if you're any better than your friend there."

You glance behind him and see Gregory, on his back on the ground, his breathing heavy. Seeing this, you're _beyond pissed. Baring your fangs, you leap at Rookery, your nails lengthening into claws. You manage a good punch to his nose, possibly breaking it._

He moves to punch you back, but you dodge it and nail a swift kick to his side. Clearly in pain, he staggers backwards to his truck. Once he's inside, the engine roars to life, and Rookery yells, "I'll be back for the lot of you!!" With that, he quickly drives away from the graveyard.

Once he's out of sight, you rush to Gregory's side, kneeling next to him.

"I told you... to wait... with my family," he manages to breathe out.

"Too bad, I was worried. For good reason, too; you're barely hanging on. You need blood. Now," you reply smartly.

"And where... do you suggest I get it? I can't even stand, much less walk or fly."

You roll your eyes, "That's where I come in."

He looks at you oddly, "What are you talking about?"

You sigh and ask, "Can you sit up?"

He nods, grabbing your shoulder for support.

You help him up, then move yourself so that you're in front of him, but on his left. "Bite me," you say blankly.

"What?" he asks, looking at you with a vaguely confused expression.

You point to your neck, "Bite... me..." you repeat slowly.

"But you're-"

"I know, a dhampir, which is why I'm saying this. Since I'm half human, you can take my blood to get stronger again. My vampire half keeps me from being affected by the bite," you explain calmly.  
Gregory looks at you for a moment, uncertain. "Are you sure, _____?"

You smile slightly, glad that he's worried about hurting you. "Yes, Gregory, I'm sure. Now do it before you pass out."

He sort-of smirks at you, and nods, leaning up towards the left side of your neck. He lingers there for a second, and you prepare yourself for the momentary pain you know is coming.

After the pause, you feel a twinge of pain as his fangs break your skin. A few seconds later, your muscles loosen and you don't feel anything. After a few seconds, you inhale lightly as his teeth leave your neck, and you feel Gregory's aura returning to normal.  
He looks at you, "You're alright?"

You can faintly hear a tinge of worry in his voice. You calm your breathing and give a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. How do you feel?"

"Honestly, I feel great," he replies with a smile of his own.

You grin, "Looks good on you."

Confused once again, he asks, "What does?"

"Your smile; you should show it more often."

He looks down slightly, and you notice a barely visible bit of color come to his pale face.

You stand and hold a hand out to Gregory.

He takes it, and you help him up from the ground. You realize, however, that he neglects to let go of your hand as he tugs you back towards the hole you'd jumped out of. He jumps down first, then moves from beneath the opening.

You drop down and straighten yourself out, only to be tackled backwards onto the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

You look down at what knocked you over and see the smiling face of Tony. "Hey, Squirt. You okay?" you ask him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I thought you were hurt! ...You're not, are you?" he asks, suddenly serious.

You fight back the urge to laugh and shake your head.

Tony smiles as he gets off of you, letting you sit up.

You do so and smile at your short, blonde friend. You squeak in surprise as someone's arms wrap around your middle and lift you up and onto your feet. You turn your head to find that Gregory was the one who'd picked you up. "Thanks, Gregory," you manage to say, all the while trying to hide the immense blush on your face.

He nods and lets go of you.

"_____! Why'd you run off like that!? Are you alright!?"

You turn your head and see Rudolph and Anna walking towards you. You shake your head and answer, "Yeah, I'm just fine. Are you both okay?"

Rudolph replies, "We're alright. _____, I'm sorry for not bringing Tony home first. I saw the truck and wanted to make sure everyone would be safe."

You just kind of wave it off, not upset over it.

He continues, "What about you, Gregory? Are you hurt?"

You glance at him and he smirks at you before answering, "Better than ever, Rudolph."  
You smile slightly and lightly touch your neck where Gregory had bitten you. Out of nowhere, realization hits you, and you look at Tony. "_You_, little one, have school tomorrow." You can see him about to argue, so you cut him off. "_I'll_ bring you home, alright?"

At that, he smiles widely and immediately answers, "Okay!"

You laugh at Tony's obvious excitement. You notice Gregory looking at you and say, "I'll be back afterwards, okay?"

He smirks again and nods.

You take Tony's hand in your own and move beneath the hollow. You scoop him up in your arms and leap up, your black, skin wings appearing seemingly from thin air. You fly high up near the clouds and head off for Tony's home.


	6. Chapter 6

Soaring above the dark clouds of the night, you make your way back to the cemetery. 'Tony's parents were pretty understanding,' you think. You'd told them that Tony was with you, and you'd accidentally lost track of time. Now, you're headed back to the family of vampires you'd recently befriended, as promised.

You fold your wings back and dive down towards the graveyard. Opening your wings again in a sweeping motion, you catch the air and land softly on the ground. You spot the opening to your right and wander through the passage. You end up in the room where the hollow is (the hole in the ground) and find Frederick and Freda speaking with Gregory.

Noticing your arrival, they stop talking and look over.

You, slightly curious, step further into the room.

Frederick looks back at his eldest son, nods, and leaves to another "room", followed by Freda, who wears a soft smile.  
You quirk one eyebrow and look to Gregory, who smiles and walks up to you.

"_____, you sort of... cut me off when we were talking before, near the trees."

You recall the conversation you'd been having and hesitate, but nod for him to continue.

"Mother and Father have both come to agree that your 'home' is unsafe, and that you should stay here, rather than with your foster-parents," he finishes.

Being pretty taken back by this, your eyes widen visibly. "Are they sure? I don't want to intrude or anything..." you trail off, uncertain.

"They're sure, and so am I, and I'm sure that Rudolph and Anna will be thrilled."

A smile creeps onto your face when you notice that Gregory is still grinning. Despite whatever your senses are saying, you throw your arms around his neck and breathe out, "Thank-you, Gregory. Thank-you so much."

Unbeknownst to you, Gregory's smile widens as he wraps his arms around your middle and whispers back, "No problem."

Slowly, you pull away, and he asks, "Err... I don't know too much about dhampir... But, you _can_ hang from the ceiling, can't you?"

You laugh. "Yeah, Gregory, I can."


	7. Chapter 7

'I can't believe this...' you think bitterly.  
You'd told Gregory that you were just going to get a few things from your not-home. Now, you're limping painfully back to the graveyard. You'd been careful, of course, but once you were inside the house, you found that your foster-father was waiting for you.

The event replays itself in your mind as you stagger onward.

.....................................................................................  
^^You slide the window open without a sound, then slip in and onto the wooden floor as quietly as a little church mouse might.

Suddenly, the lights flicker on.

Your head snaps up towards the door; there's Carl, a metal baseball bat held tightly in his grip.^^

Things get a little fuzzy after that. Crashes, yelling, blood, and the cracking of bones. The struggle left you with a sprained ankle, some bloody cuts, and a huge bruise from your right shoulder down to your right elbow, covering your entire upper arm on one side. Needless to say, it hurt. You wince as you continue to limp towards the gate. A thought hits you as you approach the entrance.

You mentally kick yourself. 'How the hell am I supposed to get in now?' As this thought crosses your mind, a sharp pain shoots through your ankle. With a loud yelp, you fall to the ground clutching your bad ankle, your eyes screwed shut in pain. Preoccupied as you are with your injury, you still hear a quiet 'thud', followed by swift footsteps.

"_____! What happened!?" You'd know that voice anywhere.

You open your eyes and see Gregory kneeling next to you, looking you over.  
"They were waiting for me," you breathe out. "Carl blocked my way out, and he got me with that damn bat... Ah!" you gasp when his hand grazes your ankle.

"You look like you've been to Hell and back," Gregory comments.

You mock-glare at him and mutter a pained, "Shut-up..." You grab onto his shoulder and pull yourself up so you're sitting upright. "I'll be fine. I just need to wait for my energy to come back so I can heal myself," you explain.

Gregory just looks at you, surprised and a little confused. "Heal yourself? You can do that?"

"Mhmm. That, among other things," you reply, earning yourself another look from him. You sigh, "Yeah, I know, I'm a freak. I'm pretty used to it by now."

At this, his expression changes. "No, that's not... You're not a freak, _____."

You look up at him with a doubtful face. "Yes, I am. I definitely don't fit in with humans, and I can't even pass for a real vampire. I don't belong among either, and I can't do anything to change that. ...In fact, if it hadn't been for Tony, I'd have been completely alone. I don't belong anywhere, Gregory. I'm a nobody."

By the time, you've finished your reasoning, tears are threatening to fall for the third time in the past 24 hours. Before they have a chance to escape, though, you find yourself in a tight embrace, strong arms wrapped around you, and a hand stroking your hair, trying to calm you down.

"I never want to hear that from you again, _____. You're not a nobody; far from it. You're more important than you think. You mean a lot to Tony; you know that. Anna and Rudolph act as though you were their older sister. Hell, even my parents have taken a liking to you," he hesitates, but continues after taking a shaky breath. "And, I know you mean a lot to me."

Your breath catches in your throat. "Gregory..." you whisper, before snaking your arms around him, holding on tightly.

"Promise me that you won't think that way anymore... I need to know that you understand, _____."

You smile, pulling back to look at him. "I promise." He smiles very lightly, and you hug him again. "Thank-you. You know... You mean a lot to me, too, Gregory."

Even though you don't see it, his smile grows considerably. "Glad to hear it."


	8. Chapter 8

Your arms are securely wrapped around Gregory's neck, and your head rests against his chest.

He holds you, one arm around your back, the other supporting behind your knees, as he flies towards the entrance to his home. He had wanted to keep you off your ankle, so he'd offered to carry you back through the cemetery. Being in _extreme_ pain, you gratefully accepted. Even though you probably wouldn't admit it, you felt safe in his arms.

You feel Gregory land and open your eyes. You see that he's landed before the opening in the ground.

He jumps down, hovering a little before actually touching the floor.

You're incredibly thankful that he's being so careful.

He walks over near a wall, glancing around and probably wondering where his family is. He sets you down so your back is leaning against the wall.

"Thanks, Gregory."

"Don't mention it. How do you feel?" he asks in return.

You rest your head against the wall and close your eyes before casually replying, "Well, I can't feel my ankle anymore, but my right arm is throbbing, probably broken."

"How can you be so calm? Your arm might be broken, and your ankle is sprained, _badly_ might I add," Gregory points out.

Still not opening your eyes, you answer, "Because I've been through worse, and, guess what? I'm still breathing. I just have to endure the pain until tomorrow. No biggie."

"Just so you know, you're not going back there again; not alone anyway," Gregory says in a serious tone.

You sigh, "Fine by me, but right now, the sun's coming up, and we should sleep. If I rest now, I can heal tomorrow night when I wake up."

He nods before asking, "You'll be alright on the floor here?"

You mumble a "yeah" in a low tone, sleep already coming to you. In your barely conscious state, you don't notice Gregory smile, before moving off to a separate area of the room to sleep himself. A few moments later, you drift into a heavy sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Your eyes flutter open and are met with red ones looking back. You jump slightly, then realize it's just Rudolph. "What is it, Rudolph?" you ask groggily, rubbing the sleep from your sight.

"Have you been asleep since this morning?"

You nod, and he sighs quietly. "Oh! One sec, kiddo," you tell him, feeling your arm start to throb again. A sky-blue light surrounds you, and your body begins mending itself.

Rudolph stares wide-eyed as your body stops glowing, and you stand and stretch.

"You sere saying?" You smirk slightly at his surprised expression.

"Err... right. Gregory's been asking about you. He's in that room over there," he points out a small space to your right.

You nod slowly, not understanding why Gregory couldn't come see you himself. You walk off in the direction Rudolph had indicated. You walk through an archway and find Gregory sitting on the floor. You gasp; now you know why he couldn't come see you 's not hurt, but you see that Gregory's in a _straightjacket_. You're surprised to find that he also has a muzzle on his face.

He looks up, noticing another presence in the room, then turns away almost immediately when he sees you. He looks almost ashamed that you'd seen him. "Hey... Good to see you up," Gregory says in a quiet voice.

"Gregory, why are you wearing a straightjacket and a muzzle? I couldn't have been asleep_ that_ long. What happened?" you ask, sitting down next to him.

He doesn't look at you, but says in the same low tone, "A human came down here. He was hooked up to some cable-thing; I don't know what it was. But I didn't really think about it. I bit him."

You're more than a little lost. "Why is that a bad thing? You're a vampire. I thought-"

"He went against my wishes," a voice sharply cuts you off.

You turn to the archway and see Frederick standing there, lightly glaring down at his eldest son."We have all agreed to take the blood of cows and other animals to keep humans from seeing us as a threat to them," Frederick continues. "We have not had any trouble keeping to this agreement,_ except for Gregory_."

Though Gregory's eyes are still to the floor, they narrow at his father's last statement.

"This is his punishment." With that, Frederick walks off.

You turn to Gregory, now with understanding in your eyes, and ask quietly, "Why won't you look at me?"

He doesn't move his gaze, but dully answers, "Why? Does it bother you?"

You give an exasperated sigh, before moving yourself in front of him and putting a hand under his chin.

He flinches at first, resisting, but you gently lift his head so he's looking straight at you.

"Are you afraid of what I think, Gregory?" you ask softly.

He stares at you for a minute before murmuring, "Maybe...""You really think that I'd feel differently about you because of this?" you ask, slightly disbelieving.

Surprise flickers in his eyes, "You mean... You don't?"

You smile slightly, then shake your head. "No, Gregory, I don't. So what if you're rebellious? Who cares? So am I," you say with a laugh in your voice.

He smiles slightly in return. "Thank-you, ______."

You smile wider. "No problem, Gregory."


	10. Chapter 10

Silence.

No sound can be heard, save for the gentle breathing of sleeping vampires... plus one dhampir.

Gregory had found it hard to get up from the floor in a straightjacket, much less make it to the ceiling. You'd told him you'd stay on the floor with him for the day while you both slept. He didn't particularly like the idea of you sleeping on the floor, but seemed happy that you didn't mind staying with him. Now, the sun has already set, and your eyes are fluttering open.

You take in your surroundings and find that your head is resting on Gregory's shoulder. What surprises you is that he's already awake.

He notices that you've woken up. "Hey. Sleep well?" he asks in a quiet tone.

"Yes, very," you reply, followed by a tiny yawn. You rub your eyes free of sleep and look up at Gregory. You now notice that your hair is no longer in its clip, some of the long locks falling over your shoulders to your front. You also notice that Gregory is playing with the ends of these strands. "What are you doing?" you ask curiously.

"I don't know, really. I started messing with it while I was waiting for you to wake up," he replies, referring to your hair.

"You could've woken me up. I slept longer than usual anyway."

He just shrugs.

"Whoa, wait a minute..." You lift your head and look back at Gregory, finally realizing that the muzzle and straightjacket are gone. "Where'd the-"

"Mother removed them earlier. She didn't feel they were necessary," he says, already knowing what you were about to ask.

"Oh, right..." Randomly, your ear twitches, picking up a very soft sound from outside. A bad feeling starts to set in around you.

Gregory sees the look on your face. "_____? What's the matter?" You hold a finger to your lips, telling him to keep quiet. He nods, and you stand up and walk almost silently across the floor and out through the archway. You stop in the center of the room where the hole is.

Gregory follows slowly behind you.

You close your eyes and use your "Aura Sense" to try to see who or what's out there. Upon finding there are two auras, you identify them almost immediately, your eyes opening wide. "No..." you whisper under your breath.  
You run to the opening and jump out without a second thought.

"_____! Wait!" Gregory yells to you, running and leaping out as well.

You don't stop until you reach the source of the auras. Seeing the figures, their faces, your legs go numb, your face pales, and your breath catches in your throat.

The taller of the two figures walks up to you menacingly, the other close behind, and grabs you around the neck. "Hello, dear daughter. We've missed you..."


	11. Chapter 11

Your face shows absolute fear, but on the inside, you're not scared. Not at all. You're in COMPLETE PANIC. You can't believe they've found you. 'How could they-?' your thoughts are cut off by your foster-father's grip tightening around your throat.

"Surprised to see us, wench? You weren't easy to find, but we've come to bring you home. You won't be leaving your room anytime soon, that's for sure," he tells you.

You want so badly for him to let go of your neck. You can't breathe, and your vision is going fuzzy. In an instant, you're on the ground with tears in your eyes, your arms crossed over your stomach, Carl's fist still clenched from the blow he'd just dealt you. You gasp for precious air, then cough painfully as it creeps into your lungs, your eyes shut tightly. Before you even open your eyes, you hear your foster-father yelp and stagger away.

"How dare you enter these grounds and attack one of our own!" an enraged and familiar voice shouts.

Your eyes shoot open, 'Frederick!'

Said vampire stands in front of you facing your foster-parents. You notice his hand balled into a tight fist.

"_____!"

You unconsciously flinch at the loud sound. You look up and are met with Gregory's worried gaze."Gregory! Take _____ and get her somewhere safe! I'll handle these two!" Frederick orders, Gregory obeys immediately, lifting you as he had when he'd brought you back the night before. He lifts off the ground and heads off towards his home.

You grip his trench coat to gain his attention.

He looks down at you, "What's wrong?"

"I want to see what happens. Please... We'll stay hidden. Please, Gregory," you plead.

He looks you in the eyes and states, "You don't really want to hide, do you? You want to fight by yourself."

You inhale sharply, surprised. "How do you-?"

"I can see it in your eyes. There's a will to fight." He sighs quietly. "Look... I'm not going to stop you. But please, ______, promise me you'll be careful," Gregory says, extremely hesitant to let you fight.

You smile at him, nodding. "Of course, I promise."

With that, he turns around and backtracks.

You wrap your arms around his neck and lean your head against his chest. "Thank-you so much, Gregory."

He smiles half-heartedly and replies, "You're welcome, but keep that promise, or I'll regret this immensely."

You blush slightly. 'He really does care... I can't believe he's so worried about me getting hurt...' Thinking this, you can't help but smile a little wider.


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay, you ready?" you ask Gregory, both of you hovering above the clearing.

"Yes, but are you certain you want to do this?" he questions.

You nod, and a moment later, you're free-falling towards the ground. You open your wings in a quick motion. Using the current from your fall, you switch from a vertical drop to speeding horizontally just above the ground, losing no acceleration. Even as fast as you're going, you can clearly see Carl about to punch Frederick. You make your right hand into a fist and aim straight for Carl's stomach.

Frederick hears you coming and looks over, only seeing a blur flash past him; your foster-father being thrown back.

Bull's-eye.

Carl staggers up off his back, only to fall forward and sit on his knees. He's in the same position you were in after he'd hit you, except he's coughing up blood.

You smirk and land near Frederick, who looks completely taken back.

Unknown to you, Gregory stands near his father, sharing the surprised look on his face.

"I said for you to go somewhere safe! What are you doing!?" Frederick cries, obviously upset about being disobeyed.

You sigh. "No, Frederick. I appreciate your concern, really, but I have to fight him. It's high time I stopped running and started defending myself. They've controlled me for too long," your fists clench tighter as you speak. "Now... _It's my turn_." Your eyes close, you can't hear anything; not even Carl's string of profanities in your direction. Your nails lengthen, sharpening at the ends into claws. The clip in your hair falls to the ground, your tresses now reaching to your waist; still brown, but darker, and the highlights have turned blood red. A circle of shadow appears at your feet, and streaks of shimmering black reach from it, encircling you. After a minute, the darkness has formed a kind of "barrier" around you, almost like a cocoon.

Gregory is about to call out to you, when at that moment, the mass of black bursts, revealing the dhampir form you've kept concealed for so long. Your shirt, jeans, sneakers, and traditional arm-warmers have been replaced. You now sport a sleeveless, black, laced-up corset with small, red highlights here and there, that cuts off just above your mid-drift. Your arms, mid-drift, and chest are completely covered in fishnet, the corset over it, and your lower half consists of black, chained pants with barbwire-designs, and black combat boots with buckles, some hidden by the legs of your pants. Your ears are now pointed slightly, and your fangs are clearly visible. Everyone stares wide-eyed at your new form, though Carl is the first to speak, "I knew you were a demon, you wretched girl. Go back to Hell where you belong!" With that, he charges at you, both hands balled into fists.

You only scowl at him and dodge as he moves to punch you in the gut. You swing one leg out and manage to nail him in the arm.

He growls and comes at you again. He punches at your face, but you bend backwards into a bridge position.

You then kick your feet off the ground and hit him under the jaw, then back flip and stand up straight.

"That's it! I'll make sure you burn in Hell, little wretch!" Carl pulls a knife from behind his back, coming at you at his full speed.

You make no move to react.

In seconds he's right in front of you, and he swings the blade forward. There's a sound of piercing flesh, and blood spurting onto the dead grass.

Gregory's eyes fill with fear and horror. "_____!"


	13. Chapter 13

It had happened too fast for the vampire to catch. Gregory was dazed by the fear that rushed through him. So dazed, in fact, that he hadn't seen you dodge Carl's strike. The blood that had spattered the ground was not your own, but that of your foster-father. You'd sidestepped to avoid the knife, then thrust your arm forward and stabbed him with your claws.  
You pull your arm back, ripping your nails from his chest.

Carl drops to the ground, dead.

Maria's scream pierces through the night air.

You wince, your ears more sensitive than before. You glare at her, "Shut up, you damned harpy..." Your voice comes out as a harsh, echoing whisper.

She looks at you, a fearful expression on her face.

You growl at her slightly, then point in the direction of the gates. "Go."

She obeys, taking off towards the exit, nearly tripping on her way out.

You look down at Carl's body, bleeding out onto the dead grass. "Well... at least he's in a graveyard." You don't dare look back at the vampire boy you'd grown so close to.

Frederick clears his throat. "From the expression on my son's face, I assume there are things you two have to straighten out. I will leave you to do so, but I want a full explanation when you return, _____."

You nod, not facing him or his son.

He then takes on his bat form and flies off.  
You venture a glance back at Gregory, then close your eyes as you begin to glow a dark purple. There's a flash of black, then it clears away, leaving you in your human form. You open your eyes, and are immediately met with Gregory's dark ones.

He walks towards you, stopping about a half a foot away.

You look away from his gaze, the ground suddenly becoming very interesting. You hear him exhale deeply.

"Why didn't you tell me about this, _____?" he asks quietly.

"Because... I was afraid..." you nearly whisper.

"Afraid of what?"

You keep your gaze down, shaking your head.

Gregory gently grasps your chin, making you look straight into his eyes again. "What were you afraid of?" he asks again, almost as quietly as you.

"I thought... that you'd change your mind about me... That you wouldn't want to be around me anymore..." you reply shakily.

He looks at you for a few seconds, then sighs very lightly and moves his hand from beneath your chin to your cheek. "You really don't understand, do you? That's never going to happen. I don't care how much you change, or how strong you are. As long as you're still here, still you, then I'm not going anywhere."

As surprised as you are, a small smile creeps onto your face.  
"I really can't believe you just said that. But... I'm glad you did. ...Thank-you, Gregory."

He smirks slightly, "Don't mention it; it's the truth. Besides, you're worth it."

You blush a little, your smile growing.

He withdraws his hand, "I think we should get back. Father wants you to explain what happened, remember?"

You nod, and he starts walking. "Gregory?"

He turns to face you, "What is it?"

You quickly walk to his side and lean up, giving him a peck on the cheek, then whisper in his ear, "Race you." You giggle at his surprised, semi-colored face and start running.

Once the shock wears off, Gregory smirks and chases after you.

You blush brightly as you run. 'Where the _HELL_ did that come from!?'


	14. Chapter 14

It's near midnight now, and almost pitch black. You, of course, can see perfectly as you run through the cemetery at top speed towards your new home. God, it feels so good to have a home. You come to a complete stop in front of the opening in the ground and collapse, panting and slightly laughing.

About two seconds later, Gregory speeds into the clearing, just as out of breath as you. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't see you lying on the ground and practically flies over you.

You bust out laughing and look over at him, "I win!"

He mock-glares at you before standing and dusting himself off. Your giggle fit dies down, but you give a small "eep" sound when Gregory lifts you up off the ground. He sets you on your feet and leans in close to your ear. "You cheated..." he close to whispers.

You can pretty much _feel_ the heat creeping up to your face. He's behind you, his arms still around your waist from picking you up.  
"Yeah? What'cha gonna do about it?" you reply smartly. You can just imagine him smirking at your response.

"_____! Gregory!"

You look to your right to see young Anna coming towards you. Gregory's arms leave your waist and you feel, strangely, a little colder...

"What is it, Anna?" you ask the little vampire girl.

She stops in front of you both, "Father wants to speak with you, _____. He seemed rather anxious, I think."

You nod and she smiles, then runs off straight away. You turn to Gregory. "You heard her; I should go see him, I guess," you venture.  
"I'll go with you. I'm a little curious, too," Gregory explains.

You give a small smile and nod again. You then turn and drop through the hole. You land on your feet, as always, and are soon followed by Gregory. You look ahead to find Frederick and Freda peering at you. You take a deep breath and move towards them a bit, Gregory making no move to follow this time. "I guess you want that explanation now?" you ask, already knowing the answer.

Freda is the one to answer you, "It would be nice to hear the whole story, dear. I only know what Frederick told me, so I think you should fill in the gray area."

You glance at Frederick, then turn your eyes to the ground and simply nod.

"Well, it's nothing too complex, really. I have two physical forms, I guess you could say. Rather than just how I look now, I have a form that allows full use of my dhampiric abilities. It's like a manifestation of my vampire side. It takes some energy to use that second form, but it's nothing too serious. In that form, I'm a little faster, stronger, and my vampiristic traits are completely visible. That's really all there is to it," you conclude.

Freda looks at you with a soft smile.

Frederick nods, signaling you that all is understood, now.

You look back at Gregory, who nods as well. You smile, glad that you're still accepted by your surrogate family. When Frederick gives you the okay to leave, your smile turns to a smirk as you look back at Gregory again. You dart to the hole and leap out, gaining a head start.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey! Get back here, _____!" a certain teenaged vampire yells at your back.

"Not a chance, Gregory!" you call back to him. You continue running towards "your tree", the one where Gregory had found out about... err, yeah. You decide to make things harder for him and jump into the tree in front of you. You wait a moment before bounding from the branch, making it fall. You land on the ground and keep running, laughing as you hear something of a scream-like yelp.

Your laughing only gets louder as Gregory yells, "Watch it!" You knew he'd dodged it, he's not THAT slow.

A few more yards and you come to the tree. You jump into the same branch and wait for Gregory to come by. After a few minutes, he still hasn't shown up, and you can't hear his footsteps anymore. You're beginning to get worried when something grabs you from behind. You shriek and fall from the tree. Luckily, the branch wasn't extremely far from the ground. Not-so-luckily, you land flat on your back. "Owww..." you groan.

You hear laughing that you recognize instantly. "Gregory, you suck..." you mutter.

The laughing dies down a little, and you can tell that he's smirking as he lands next to you on the ground. "Oh come off it. You didn't fall _that_ far," he says, rolling his eyes.

You smile innocently, "I know. I also know that I won. Again." You finish your sentence, then sweep your leg out and knock both of Gregory's from under him.

He lands on his back, but sits up quickly and aims a glare in your direction.

Your hysterical giggles stop when Gregory pounces on you, "Yeah, you won. Again. But that's only because you cheated. _Again,_" he retorts, poking your side.

You giggle slightly.

Gregory arches one eyebrow and pokes you again.

Another giggle.

His smirk widens while you only blink.

"Ha-ha! Gregory! S-Stop, ha-ha!" is all you can manage between laughs.

"Not a chance, ____," he replies, quoting you from earlier. If you haven't already guessed, Gregory's figured out that you're ticklish. And now, he's using it against you.

Not fun for you.

After a few minutes of this, he stops, allowing you to breathe again.

Once you've got air back in your lungs, you look up at him. You see his smirk has become a smile. You smile, too, then remember something, "So, was that your 'revenge' on me for cheating, Gregory?" You see something flash in his eyes, but not something you recognize.

"Not really. I had something else in mind..." he seems to trail off.

Your smile doesn't waver as you move his face so he's looking at you again, "Hey, look at me if you aren't talking to the ground. I can't imagine it's as amusing as me," you say jokingly.

Gregory looks you straight in the eye, then sighs quietly, "How do you do that?"

You look back at him confused, "Do what?"

"When I'm near you, I feel... strange. Almost like when I... bite someone. It's a little different, though. Stronger..." In that moment, Gregory forgets all about "revenge". He focuses purely on knowing why this is happening to him. 'Maybe it really _is _just bloodlust...'

The look in Gregory's eyes worries you. "Gregory? Are you okay?" you ask, carefully moving to sit up. In one swift move, you're lying back on the ground, hands pinned above your head. 'What the-!?'

Gregory makes sure you can't get loose and leans down towards your neck.

You realize what he's doing and turn your head, knocking his away, "What's wrong with you!?" you cry, looking into his eyes. They're not red, so it isn't thirst. Then you notice... they look like yours always did. Lost and unsure. Confused, too. You gasp as his grip on your wrists tightens. "Gregory! You're hurting me!" you yell, wincing at the pressure.

Seeming to realize something, he lets go of your wrists and gets off of you. He stands, facing away from you. "Sorry..." he practically whispers. Then, he darts off.


	16. Chapter 16

"Gregory! Wait!" you call. You can barely see his retreating form anymore.

He doesn't heed your plights, just continues running.

You've been chasing him for a while now, and you don't even know where he's going. After what seems like hours, the trees part, and you see Gregory stop. The place seems like a cliff. You see the vampire-boy near the end of the cliff. You walk up behind him, stopping when you're about an arm's length away. "Why did you run away Gregory?"

He doesn't turn to face you, but answers quietly, "I hurt you, _____."

"But you're not yourself! I saw the confusion in your eyes! I want to help!" you retort in a raised voice, trying to get through to him.

He sighs audibly, but slowly turns to face you. You can still se the lost look in his eyes. "How are you so willing to help me? I tried to bite you without your consent. How can you be so forgiving?"

You move a step closer, "Because I know the feeling... Being lost; to need help, but have no one to turn to. I don't like seeing you this way, Gregory. I want to help you out of this."  
He turns his gaze over the ledge behind him, looking down at the water. You hear him whispering, most likely only to himself, "But how can you help if you're the cause of it?"

"What?" you ask, extremely confused by this point. You sigh when he doesn't respond, "Explain, Gregory. Tell me what you're feeling."

He looks at you for a long minute, just staring into your eyes, then nods, "Alright..."

Subconsciously, your face shifts into a small smile.


	17. Chapter 17

You see Gregory sit down with his legs dangling over the ledge, so you sit next to him, your legs crossed, facing him.

"This won't be the easiest thing to explain..." he murmurs.

You smile slightly, trying to comfort him, "Just try, then. I'll try to fill in whatever leeway you leave, okay?"

He nods, then starts, "I never felt it before I became a vampire. There's... warmth, but only at certain times. It's strange."

You tilt your head, "How often? Like, when do you feel it?"

"It's usually when I'm..." he stops, and it looks to you like he's putting it together in his head.

"When you're what?" you ask, almost goading him to continue.

He looks you straight in the eyes, "...When I'm with you, _____."

Your eyes widen slightly, and you breathe out, "Me?"

Gregory answers by simply nodding.

You look away from him and at the water below you. 'It's my fault he's like this,' you think, a frown forming on your face. 'Because of me...'

"Don't blame yourself. I don't mind this feeling. It makes me feel almost... like I'm alive again," he explains, seeing your expression.

Your eyes immediately meet with his again, "Don't say you're not alive, Gregory. You're here, and you're breathing, necessarily or not, so you're alive."

He sighs again, "I think... I might know what this feeling is..."

You're slightly surprised by this. "Really? Well, what do you think?"

His gaze wavers, but stays on you. "I hear Mother telling Anna sometimes... about how she felt when she met my father. She describes it as a warm feeling that flows through you, makes you feel happy. She says that's what... love feels like."

You look down and try to register what Gregory's just said. 'If he's really feeling love, then does that mean...?' Your thoughts are broken when his fingers brush against your cheek. You look back up and see Gregory's face only inches from your own. Almost instantly, that familiar, bright color creeps up your neck.

"Do you feel it, too, _____?" His question gets you thinking about it.

You realize that, even though you didn't really notice, "I think... that I have for a while, now..." After that, it feels like some things start to make more sense. Like you knew it somewhere, or your head was too oblivious to understand your feelings. You see Gregory smile, making you do the same. It's what happens next that catches you completely off-guard. You were so lost in though that you hadn't noticed him moving closer to you. Only when the space between you is gone do you come back to reality. It takes a few seconds for it to click in your head, but once it does, it hits you like a truck.  
Gregory is _kissing_ you.


	18. Chapter 18

About a million and three things run through your mind. Despite this, you're so happy in this one moment that you silence all of these thoughts. It only takes another second for you to kiss Gregory back. Your eyes close, and you can feel him smiling against your lips. You smile, too, then focus on not screwing anything up. You two continue for a few minutes before you break away, staring straight into his dark eyes. "Wow..." you whisper, still somewhat dazed.

"I guess... you felt it too, then?" he asks, still recovering himself.

You just nod, unable to make your voice work.

He just smiles again, standing up and bringing you with him. "It'll be sunrise soon. We should go back."

You smile back at him, finally having a voice again, "Okay..."

Though he releases you, Gregory still holds one of your hands in his. His fingers entwine with yours, and your smile only widens. You both start walking back, happiness still evident on your faces.

At this point, you're pretty much doing the happy dance in your head. You've never felt this good in your life. 'I can't believe this is happening! All this time, it's been because I liked him, and he likes me _back!_' Thoughts like these come to you one after the other. You look at Gregory and see that he's lost in his own thoughts. You take the opportunity to think as well, and allow your mind to drift back to the kiss...  
It was strange, to say the least. You'd never felt anything like that before. That... spark. Not to say it wasn't something you enjoyed, because that _definitely_ isn't true, but it was new to you, like so many other things lately. 'So much is happening at once, but it's all for the better... All because of...' You glance at Gregory, still smiling. 'My new family...'


	19. Chapter 19

"Remind me again why we can't go back to the cemetery?" you mutter, walking down a deserted street, accompanied by the Sackville-Bagg family. It's, of course, pitch-black outside now, and no one's on the streets anymore.

"Because, _____, Rookery knows we live there. We can't go back unless we have a re-death wish," comes Gregory's reply.

"Oh... Then why are we roaming the street?" you ask, suddenly realizing something.

He looks at you oddly. "To find somewhere to hide, maybe?" he answers like it's common knowledge.

"Umm, I know a place."

This draws the stares of the other four vampires to you.

"You do?" Gregory questions.

"Mmhmm..." you mumble. "Follow me!" you chirp, continuing down the street.

The five follow closely to the end of the next block.

You turn and walk up an old stone pathway to an even older-looking house. Stopping at the front door, you turn to the others, "This house was abandoned in the 1990s. People thought it was haunted."

Gregory looks at the building, then proceeds to the door. After a failed attempt at opening it, he turns and bluntly states, "It's locked."

You shrug, then go around the side of the house to the back. A cat screeches, garbage cans fall over, and many crashes are heard. The lock clicks and the door opens, revealing you standing there, a little disheveled, "Come on in!" You venture into what appears to be a living room, an unlit candle set on the small coffee table. You flop down on a couch and smile, "I used to stay here sometimes before I found the graveyard. The only thing haunting this place is me. I don't use anything electric, and candles provide whatever light I might need, so I don't have to pay for anything, and no one knows I'm here. Until we deal with Rookery, you're all welcome here, if you want."  
Gregory smirks as he looks around the room, "Big, dark, quiet... I like it."

You nod, "Yeah, you guys can sleep wherever you want. I use one of the bedrooms upstairs. Feel free to look around."

Frederick smiles appreciatively, "Thank-you, _____. This is perfect." He and Freda then walk off to look around, and Anna and Rudolph run off, probably to see the other rooms. That leaves you with Gregory.

You look over at him, "What about you? Not up to exploring?"

He walks over and stands next to where you're sitting. "Actually, I was wondering if I could see your room," he says simply.

You know you're blushing at how suggestive that sounded, even though you know he didn't mean it like that, but you shrug. "If you want, I don't mind showing you," you answer, a slight smile on your face.

He tries to hide his smirk, but fails miserably and holds out a hand to you, bowing slightly, "Lead the way, milady."

You giggle, standing up and taking his hand, "But of course, good sir."

He chuckles and lets you lead him up a few stairs to a door.

You open it and step inside, Gregory at your heels. You strike a match on a small dresser and light a candle, the light reflecting off of a mirror you'd set up a while back.  
Gregory looks around the room, noticing the many papers on the walls. "Did you draw these?" he asks, looking at one of the pencil-drawings.

"Yeah, I like to be creative I guess," you answer, sitting on the bed.

"You're really good; these pictures are beautiful," he says, moving quietly towards you.

"Thanks," you answer, blushing at the compliment. You, being completely oblivious to Gregory's movement, look down at the wooden floor and try to rid your face of it's rosy tint. The old bed shifts as Gregory sits behind you and wraps his arms around your waist. You gasp out of surprise, not realizing he was so close.

"You still jump?" he teases, a laugh in his voice.

You pout. "Yeah, well, no one asked you..." you reply, crossing your arms.

He smirks and whispers, "Don't be mad just because I'm right. You know you can't stay angry with me." He rests his chin on your shoulder, so you turn your head the other way, playing silent.  
You probably could've kept quiet for a while, but Gregory, of course, had to ruin that.

His lips press to your neck, making you bite your tongue to keep from gasping again.

You sigh and turn to him, "You're SO lucky you're cute, Gregory..." you trail off.

He chuckles, "I know, otherwise you would've hit me by now."

You laugh and turn back to him, "Nah, I love you too much." You kiss him lightly and smile.

"I know that, too. And I love you too, _____," is his reply.

And you're satisfied with that.


	20. Chapter 20

"_____?"

"Yeah, Gregory?"

"Can you tell me little more about being a dhampir? Like how it's different from being a vampire?"

Now, you wonder why he asked, but don't mind telling him. "Well, there aren't too many differences, really. While vampires _need _blood to survive, dhampir don't. They can take blood if they need to, like if they're weak, but they can't turn people into vampires. Dhampir can change forms to hide or use their vampiric traits, and they can't turn into bats. Other than that, they have all the strengths of vampires, but none of the weaknesses, regardless of which form they're in."

Gregory, seemingly deep in thought, asks, "What happens if a dhampir bites a human?"

You look at him strangely, "They become a half-vampire... Gregory, why are you so curious all of a sudden?"

At this, he looks you in the eyes, "I've been thinking..." He stops, probably looking for the right words.

"Yeah?" you say, almost telling him to go on.

"When my family really does find a way to become human again, I want to be different. I want to be... like you."

Now _that_ shocks you. "Umm... Whyyyyyyy?" you drawl out, an extremely confused look on your face.

"Because normalcy is overrated."

You have to laugh at that. "True, but what will your parents say? You honestly think they'll allow it?"

"Not really, but then again, since when have I ever listened to what I'm told?" he remarks sarcastically.

You smile at him, "If it's what you want, then I won't stop you, Gregory."

He smirks. "Not like you could..." he whispers.

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

You scowl and pinch his arm, then roll away from him.

Gregory reacts by pinning you to the bed before you can get very far, your hands above your head. "Nice try," he whispers, sending chills up your spine.

"Okay, you win. Can you get off me now?"

"Nah, I like this position."

You pout somewhat childishly, making him laugh.

"You know, I rather like that pout... It's cute."

You mock-glare at him and are about to say something when you're cut off by Gregory's lips on your own. You just close your eyes and kiss back. He smirks against your lips, knowing he's won, and releases your hands. Your arms snake around his neck, while his wind around your middle. This, eventually, turns into a make-out session.  
You stop and pull away after a while, the need for oxygen overcoming you.

Gregory rolls sideways and lays next to you on the bed. His arms are still wrapped securely around you as you snuggle closer to him. The sun starts to rise behind the boarded windows, and you both drift off into sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

"It's so romantic! They're absolutely perfect for each other!"

Hearing that, you stir from your sleep. You don't open your eyes, thinking you'd imagined it.

"Hush, Anna! You'll wake them up!"

_That _you know you heard. Your eyes practically shoot open. You're still in Gregory's arms, and he's still asleep. You look towards the door, only to find it open with three little children looking through, all of them seeming to be holding back laughter. You sigh quietly and sit up as far as possible without waking Gregory. If he saw this, there'd be _big _trouble. "What are you doing!? Get the _hell _out of here!" you exclaim in a harsh whisper.

In a flash, they're darting down the old stairs, laughing hysterically as they run.

You sigh again, thinking of what might happen if Frederick or Freda found out. You feel Gregory's grip tighten around your waist and look down at him. His eyes are half open, like he's trying to keep them from closing again. "Who were you talking to just now?" he asks sleepily.

"Umm... you sure you want to know?"

He looks at you strangely, but nods anyway.

"Your little siblings, plus Tony."

As soon as you say that, his eyes widen, then close again. Gregory sighs. "We're screwed, aren't we?" he states more than asks.

"Pretty much."

He groans in annoyance.

You laugh at his reaction, "Wow, you're pretty calm about this."

"Not calm. Tired," is his reply.

You giggle, "I'm tired, too, but I can still talk in sentences."

"No more talking. Back to sleep," he slurs, trying to pull you back down at the same time.

"Alright, alright. No need to tell _me _twice." You lay down and get close to him again.

"Good..." he murmurs, making you giggle.

In, like, seconds, he's out again, and you follow not too long after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*BAM!*

You're awake and sitting up, eyes darting around the room. "What... the hell... was that?"


	22. Chapter 22

"Gregory! Gregory, wake up!" you whisper urgently, shaking him lightly by the shoulder.

"What? What's wrong, _____?" he asks groggily.

"I heard something outsi-"

*BAM!*

You jump, as does Gregory, who's now fully awake. You breathe out slowly, "Outside..."

Gregory signals for you to stay quiet, moving to the window.

You follow close behind and pull back the tattered curtains, looking through a hole in one of the boards. You scan the area outside for what might be making those noises.

*BAM!* *BAM!*

Outside, some kids are trying to break in through the back door.

You sigh in relief.

Gregory looks at you, "Some stupid idiots screwing around out there?"

You nod.

"Be right back, then." He then stands straight and leaves the room.

You listen carefully as his footsteps descend the staircase and eventually disappear. You keep listening, trying to find something in the silence of the house.

A moment later, there's a loud echo of simultaneous screams.

You look through the hole again and see the kids running around like chickens without heads. You smirk as Gregory walks back in, his expression matching yours.

He notices you looking at him. "What?" he asks, his smirk never faltering.

"What did you do?"

He shrugs, "Nothing, really..."

"You pretty much jumped out and said 'Boo!', didn't you?" you accuse smartly.

Gregory chuckles, but nods, proving you right.

You laugh, imagining the whole thing.

A quiet knock-on-wood sound brings both of your attention to the door. There's Rudolph, somewhat hiding behind the frame. "_____, Mother's asked to speak with you," he says, smiling sheepishly.

You groan, already knowing what it's about. "I'll be right down, Rudolph," you answer

He nods, then retreats down the stairs, probably afraid of his brother at this point.

You look at Gregory, "I can only imagine what she's going to say."

He walks over to you, taking your hand in his own. "Don't worry, she's not who I'm worried about speaking to."

You nod, "Right, your father." You smile then, "Relax, I bet it won't be _that _bad."

He rolls his eyes, "Right..."

You smile still, then get up on your tip-toes and give him a peck on the lips. "I should go..."

Gregory nods, releasing your hand. "I'll be here."

You step back, then walk around him and out the door. 'Lord, help me. I hope Gregory's parents aren't _too _angry...'


	23. Chapter 23

'Those little munchkins are SO six-feet-under if they said anything...' is all you think before entering the small living room. Knowing it's only Freda, not being joined by her husband, you feel slightly less nervous. "You wanted to see me?" you ask quietly.

She turns towards you, a small smile on her face. "Yes, dear. Come, sit down," she answers, gesturing beside her.

You take a seat and look up at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Now, my sources tell me that you are involved with my eldest son,"

'Oooh boy.'

"Is this true?" she asks.

You divert your eyes to the ground, murmuring a quiet "Yes".

She laughs lightly, gently placing a hand on your shoulder. "Are you embarrassed, young one?" Freda asks, her smile becoming slightly mischievous.

"Well, a little, I guess. I mean, my boyfriend's mother just found out that I'm dating her son. I don't think embarrassed is really the right word," you mutter, somewhat afraid of her reply.

She just laughs again before saying, "I have no qualms, nor objections to you seeing Gregory. Also, while Frederick will have to be informed, I will speak for you."

Your eyes snap up to meet hers, surprise clear on your face. "You would really do that, Freda?"

"Of course. Gregory's never been one to open up much, always keeping to himself. You make him happy, and if he loves you, I would never think to interfere." Finishing her reply, she opens her arms, welcoming you into a motherly embrace.

You hug her back, realizing that you've never felt this at-home in your entire life. You pull back, a smile forming, "Thank-you so much, Freda."

"Think nothing of it, dear. Now, you'd best be off; I'd imagine my son is waiting for you," she says, her eyes shining.

You nod, then stand and retreat back upstairs. You reach the top and put your ear against the door. 'Nothing. He must've gone back to sleep,' you muse, noticing that it's still not that late. You quietly open the door and step in, finding Gregory on the bed. You wonder why he's not on the ceiling, but close the door and move to kneel next to the bed. You get on your knees on the floor and gently stroke Gregory's face. His eyes open slowly, and you smile gently. "Hey, love," you whisper, resting your head on the bedside.

"Hey," he responds, taking your hand. He lays on his side, his dark eyes staring into yours. "What did Mother want?" he asks, nearly whispering.

You smile again; you'd never really thought about it, but his Scottish accent is really cute. "Nothing important, really," you answer, shrugging it off.

Gregory mock-glares at you, "Liar."

"I don't really think you'll be happy to hear it," you admit, looking away from him.

"Why?"

You sigh quietly. "Well, let's just say that your siblings and their best friend can't keep a secret..." you stop there.

Gregory sighs and closes his eyes, "They told my parents, didn't they?"

"Mmhmm. Well, they told Freda. She's going to explain to Frederick for us. I say we got lucky. Oh, and your mother seemed pretty happy for us, I think," you muse.

"I'm not surprised that she's happy about it. She is my mother, after all. I can't imagine how my father will react, though," he answers, sitting up.

You giggle as you stand up and walk towards the window. You move the curtains and peer through the hole. "Hmm, about... nine. Cool," you say, moving back from the window.

Gregory looks at you, still half-asleep, and tilts his head. "What about nine?" he asks, barely suppressing a yawn.

You turn and look at him, then smile. "Aww..." you murmur, making him look at you strangely. You giggle to yourself, 'He's so adorable, even if he's completely disoriented...' "Nothing, I meant it's about nine o' clock," you explain, controlling your giggles.

"Oh," is his simple answer as he looks away.

You shake your head, then decide to take advantage of his half-awakeness. You smirk, then jump at him.

"BONZAI!!"

"Wha-AAAGH!"

*Thump*


	24. Chapter 24

"Did you honestly have to tackle me?"

You laugh from next to Gregory on the floor. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. You were just so oblivious; I had to. Besides, it's not like you really got hurt, anyway."

He sighs, "Yeah, whatever. Are we going to get off the floor?"

"Nah, I'm too lazy," you reply sarcastically.

Gregory smirks, "Fine by me." He then rolls over so he's on top of you.

You look up at him innocently, "What'cha doin'?"

He runs his fingers over your neck, making you shiver. "Can I...?"

You understand his unfinished question and smile, then nod in approval.

He leans down, gently nibbling your skin.

You bite back a moan, before Gregory's fangs pierce your neck. The familiar, sharp pain hits you, then fades quickly. You stay silent and let him continue.

Not even half-a-minute later, he removes his fangs, but doesn't pull back. Being careful of his teeth, he starts to kiss and suck your neck.

"Gregory..." you breathe out. His hands rest on your hips as he brings his lips to meet yours.

Your eyes flutter closed, and you move your lips with his. You can vaguely taste your own blood as his tongue slips into your mouth. Your tongue meets his, and you both become locked in a battle for dominance. Only when the need for air becomes unbearable do you pull away. You gasp in air and look into Gregory's eyes.

He sits up, pulling you from the floor and into his arms. "I love you, _____."

You smile and hug him back, "I love you, too, Gregory." A small sound reaches your ears, gradually growing louder. You realize what it is and groan in annoyance.

Gregory looks at you in concern, "What's wrong?"

You look back at him and answer simply, "Rookery."


	25. Chapter 25

So, now you and Gregory are on the roof, watching Rookery attempt to hook something up to his truck.

"Shouldn't we be stopping him?" Gregory asks you.

You shake your head, "He doesn't know we're here. He just ended up here coincidentally. We'll get him if he notices us, but for now, I wanna watch this idiot electrocute himself."

Right on cue, sparks fly and Rookery yells out.

Also on cue, you and Gregory bust out laughing. Luckily, the moron doesn't hear you over the crackling of his truck.

"He's so stupid. He's trying to hook that thing up all wrong. I don't even know what it _is_ and I can tell it's wrong," you say, laughter still in your voice.

Gregory laughs again, "I have to admit, this is hysterical."

You nod, "I second that." Just then, more sparks fly from the vehicle, Rookery screaming profanities in Gaelic (Irish/Scottish language if I'm not mistaken).

"Ha, I thought I was the only one who used words like that," you say randomly.

Gregory eyes you strangely, "You can swear in languages besides English?"

"Yup!"

"...What can you say?"

You look up in thought, "Weeell... In Italian, 'accidenti' means 'dammit', like 'verdammt' in German. Umm... Oh! 'Kuso' is something like 'shit' in Japanese... I know there's more, but I can't think of them right now."

Gregory just stares at you.

"What?" you ask innocently.

He just shakes his head.

You grin, "VENI VEDI VICI!!"

"What does that mean?"

"Umm... Nooothiiing..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"_____..."

"What?"

"Tell me."

"Nevah!!" Yeah, Rookery had eventually given up on the doodad and driven off, but Gregory won't leave you alone until he finds out what "veni vedi vici" means. Both of you are now back in your room, and Gregory still won't let up on you.

"Why not?"

"Because it's no fun if I just _tell_ you."

"..."

"Yay! I win!"

"No, you don't."

"Aww..." you pout, causing Gregory to smirk.

"I know I've said this before," he starts, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close. "But that pout is still cute."

You giggle and nuzzle his neck, "I know, and thank-you."

He just smiles and whispers, "Anytime."

Now, of all times, a random thought comes to you. "You know, I'm kind of curious about how you'll look as a human."

He looks down at you, "Why?"

"I don't know. I just think it'll be a little strange, you know?"

He nods, "Yeah, I know. I've been a vampire for so long... It'll be a big change."

You smile and hug him, "I can promise you that you won't hate it, Gregory. Yeah, you'll be more human, but you'll be damn strong, that's for sure."

He holds you tightly, "Good to know, and thank-you for agreeing to help me."

"It's no problem. Besides, I wanna see if you're still a pretty-boy as a human."

Gregory laughs and lets go of you, "Interesting motive, _____."

You stick your tongue out at him.

"Put that away unless you plan to use it."

You immediately scowl, "Pervert."

He laughs, shrugging it off.

A soft hum is heard from near the bed. You jump onto the mattress and pick your cell-phone up from the nightstand. You mainly have it so Tony can call you, since he's the only one you talk to who uses one. "Helloooo?" you drawl.

"_____?"

"Tony? Are you at home?"

"Yeah, I'm home. Listen, Rudolph and I found what they need to become human. I don't have much time, Rookery's coming. I have a message for Gregory."

You sit up quickly, "Okay, but where are your parents?"

"They're at the McAshton's place; hurry, _____! Tell Gregory to make the Call. He'll understand! Go!" There's a crash in the background, then a yell, and the line cuts out.

"Tony? Tony!?"

No answer.

"What's going on, _____?" Gregory asks, obviously worried.

"They found whatever it is that your family's been looking for. Tony said to tell you to make the Call, I think. Rookery's close behind them," you explain.

Gregory growls, "Come on!" He grabs your hand and pulls you downstairs. He stops at the arch to the den. "Listen carefully, _____. I need you to do something."

"What is it?"

"I need you to move as fast as you can and get my father's pendant. This is extremely important, alright? Get it and meet me outside."

"Then what?"

"We fly to the cliff, the one where we first kissed, remember?"

You smile slightly, "How could I forget?"

Gregory smiles back and nods, "Go then. I'll be out front."

You nod and lean up, giving him a quick kiss. When you pull away, you mock-salute and turn towards the living room.

With a last glance, Gregory turns as well and heads outside, leaving you to get the pendant.


	26. Chapter 26

You peek around the arch into the den, where Frederick and Freda are seated on the couch. 'Oh man... I really REALLY hope they don't get too mad. Especially Frederick.' You take a deep breath and move, quick as a flash, through the room, skillfully slipping the pendant over the elder vampire's head as you pass. Without a word, you run outside, slamming the door in your hurry, and join Gregory. You hold the necklace up for him to see, catching your breath.  
He nods, "Good job, now we've got to get going, before they realize what's going on. There's no time to explain to them."  
You hand him the amulet and unfold your wings, once again visible on your back. You both lift from the ground, flying at top speed towards the cliff. You venture a glance behind you and see the other two vampires just coming outside, bewildered looks on their faces. You frown and look forward again, beating your wings against the air with all your might. You both soar over homes and trees, eventually getting to your destination. You land side-by-side, and you watch as Gregory walks to the edge of the cliff. You take a breath and fold your wings back, eventually hiding them completely. You take a few steps forward and sit on a nearby stone, "So what exactly is 'The Call'?"  
He glances back at you, "It's like a message, or a signal. It's how we call together our clan. The rest of our family hears it and gathers here."  
You look at him quizzically, "Then what's the amulet for?"  
"Just watch; you'll see," he replies with a smirk.  
You roll your eyes and smile, but sit quietly and wait to see what he does.  
"Gregory! _____!"  
You both turn and see Anna running up to you. You move to the side and let her sit next to you on the stone, draping your arm over her shoulders, "You okay, Anna?"  
She smiles at you and nods, "Yes, _____." She looks to her brother, then. "Please, Gregory, hurry."  
He looks her over quickly, finding nothing wrong, and nods, turning to face the edge again. He starts swinging the amulet in a circle above his head, the motion creating a low whistling sound that, while it's quiet, rings clearly in your ears. After a few minutes, a car pulls up behind you, which you immediately recognize as the Thompsons'. You stand quickly and move towards it, but stop dead in your tracks when Frederick and Freda step out of the car.  
They walk up to where you and Anna are, and Frederick smiles at his son, "Thank-you, Gregory, for doing what I could not."  
Gregory grins back at him, then swings the amulet faster, and the sound becomes more high-pitched.  
You hear the cries of what sound like... bats? When you look up, there are bats flying towards the cliff from all different directions. As they converge, they take the forms of their true vampire-selves, and you can only assume that they are other members of the Sackville-Bagg clan.  
The new arrivals begin to surround the Thompsons' car, probably wondering what the hell it is since they all look just a _bit _less civilized than Gregory's family.  
You almost laugh when you faintly hear Dotty and Bob freaking out from inside.  
Frederick moves back to the car and kind of shoos them away from it, gesturing for Tony's parents to come out.  
They do so (eventually) and slowly come to stand near you.  
Dotty sees you and looks kinda confused. "_____?"  
You grin sheepishly, "Hey, Mrs. Thompson. How's it goin'?"  
"What are you doing here?  
By this time, Gregory's finished with the amulet and is watching this whole exchange, even though you don't notice. "Well, I... uh..."  
"She's here with me."  
You look to your right and see that Gregory's materialized next to you.  
"I wanted _____ to meet my family," he says easily, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.  
Dotty exchanges a glance with Bob before looking back at Gregory, "Um, I'm sorry... Who are you?"  
He gives a small grin, "My name's Gregory, I'm _____'s boyfriend."  
Dotty's mouth drops open just a bit as she glances at you.  
Pretending not to notice, Gregory continues, "You're Tony's parents, right? It's nice to finally meet you."  
Quickly recovering, she replies, "Oh, uh, it's... nice to meet you, too, Gregory."  
Looking between the two, you say, "Um, Dotty, Bob, I need to talk to Gregory real quick, okay?"  
They look at each other and nod.  
You nudge the teenaged vampire and motion for him to follow you, which he does. When you reach a relatively safe distance, you turn to him, "You caught on pretty quickly, there."  
He shrugs, "Had to tell them something, so why not the truth?"  
You smirk, "I don't know if you could really call it the truth, since we left out the whole thing about you being a vampire, along with your entire family, buuuuut..." you look around at some of the, err... stranger-looking vampires. "I guess they've probably figured that out already."  
"If they haven't, I think there's a problem," he responds.  
You laugh a little, looking back at the two. They look pretty shaken. You don't look for long, though, before turning back to Gregory. "So, what happens now?"  
He looks up at the comet, watching it slowly inch toward the moon. "We wait... wait, and hope that Rudolph and Tony can get here in time. We have to use the other amulet identical to my father's and wish to be free of this curse. It has to happen when the comet is in the right position, but we don't have much longer. They have to hurry..." He trails off, frowning.  
You reach up and wrap your arms around him in a hug, "They'll make it, Gregory. Don't worry."  
He hugs back, "I hope you're right..."  
You separate when Frederick starts to speak to the clan. 'He's... apologizing? Why? There's still time...' You sigh, but straighten as your ears perk up a little. 'Cheering... Is that Tony?' You look up in the direction the yelling had come from, and sure enough, there's Tony, flying hand-in-hand with Rudolph, both of them cheering loudly with wide grins on their faces. You point upwards, "Look! There they are!"  
Gregory, as well as everyone else, follows your gesture.  
Frederick and Freda both smile happily, pride shining in their eyes.  
You look over at the Thompsons. Dotty looks like she's about to faint, and Bob's just gaping up at the two.  
You can just make out what Tony's yelling. "WE GOT IT!!"  
You laugh, 'Typical squirt.'  
They land on the ground, and Tony quickly walks up to Frederick, "I think you've been looking for this," and hands him the amulet.  
Frederick grins back at him, "Thank-you, my friend," Rudolph joins them. "Thank-you both." He then turns and steps up to the cliff's edge, holding the amulet up to the moonlight. The amulet reacts and begins to turn as Frederick speaks some foreign words.  
Gregory grasps your hand, "This is it..." he whispers.  
You squeeze his hand slightly, "I'm happy for you."  
He smiles at you, before looking back at his father.  
A bright, red light shoots from the comet to the amulet, bathing the area in red. Tony runs over to his parents, hugging them both, then turns back to watch.  
Out of nowhere, something rises up from the bottom of the cliff and cuts off the light's path. There are many gasps and murmurs of confusion as the redness disappears. You can hear Bob in the background, "Hey... that's my blimp!"  
As the blimp rises above the cliff, it reveals Rookery ascending with it, a brightly-lit cross in his hand. The vampires shriek and back away as he jumps down and knocks Frederick off balance, sending the amulet to the ground. Rookery swings the cross wildly around him, fending off any who try to get close.  
You feel Gregory flinch from next to you. You growl at the vampire hunter and dash forward, "Hey, ugly!"  
He turns your way.  
"Eat this!" You jump up and kick him in the jaw, knocking him back.  
He flails his arms to keep on his feet, dropping the cross over the cliff in the process.  
You land easily on the ground in a fighting stance, glaring at him.  
He snarls at you, "You damned girl! What ARE you!? Some kind of human-vampire _freak_!?"  
You hiss and run at him again, punching him in the stomach, then in the face, following up by kicking him where the sun don't shine. Before he falls to the ground, you grab his collar and leer straight into his eyes, "Damn right I am." With that, you toss him over the edge, leaving him to plummet into the water below.  
Tony walks behind you somewhere and picks up the amulet. He looks at it, then the comet.  
Rudolph calls from further back, "You know what we want, Tony! Wish it!"  
He turns to look up at the moon, then hesitantly raises his hands above his head, holding up the amulet.  
You quickly move out of the way as the light comes back down, the force of it, making Tony's arms shake. You see him close his eyes and focus, and you can feel him putting everything he's got into this wish.  
Red smoke slowly begins to come up around the vampires, covering them, before some of them disappear completely as the smoke fades.  
You look to Gregory and see the smoke beginning to form at his feet. "Gregory!" You run over to him, "What's happening?"  
"It's working..." he says calmly, smiling once again. "We're going to be free of this curse!" He looks into your eyes, and his smile becomes somewhat sad. "I... I have to go with the rest of my family, _____..."  
You immediately feel confused, "Go where?"  
He grabs your hands, but doesn't break eye contact, "I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen to us now."  
You can feel your eyes well up with hot tears, "B-But... you can't-"  
"I'm sorry," he says, cutting you off. He looks at you for a second, then pulls you forward into a kiss.  
The tears spill over as you kiss back, clinging to him, knowing that when you let go, he'll be gone.  
He pulls back, taking your hands again as the smoke rises up and covers him halfway. "Don't forget about me, _____."  
Your shoulders shake with every sob you hold back, "I won't, Gregory. I promise."  
He's almost completely covered by now. "I love you."  
You grip his hands tightly as more tears fall, "I love you, too."  
With that, the smoke engulfs him, as well as the rest of his family, and you feel his hands disappear from yours.  
You glance down at your hands, now grasping nothing but air, then back up just in time to see the last of the smoke fade away, taking with it the red glow that painted the sky. You look around for any trace of Gregory or his family.  
Nothing.  
The only ones left are you, Tony, and his parents.  
'Tony...' You turn towards the cliff and see him run to the edge, the amulet still in his hand. You take a deep breath and slowly walk up behind him. You kneel down about half-a-foot away and do your best to smile at him as he looks at you. Another wave of tears falls from your eyes as you shakily murmur, "I lost someone, too..."  
Tony's eyes tear up. He launches himself into your arms, breaking down as you hold him tightly.  
You gently rock back and forth, both of you crying now. "I'm still here, squirt. You still have me... We'll stick together."  
Tony's parents kneel down and encircle the two of you, none of you saying a word after that. You don't move from that spot for another hour, sitting there under the moon as the comet passes just overhead.


	27. Chapter 27

After that night on the cliff, you hadn't spoken more than two-word sentences to anyone but Tony, and even then, conversation was a rarity. His parents had you stay with them; they thought it would be better if you weren't alone right now. And they were right. Even though you were distant most of the time, you appreciated how much they were trying to help you. They could tell you were hurting inside. When you were alone, you'd just sit and let your mind go into blank mode, not thinking about anything that really registered to you, but when you "woke-up", you'd be crying.  
It's been about a month since the whole event, and you're starting to get better. You still can't really smile, but you try, mostly so Tony and his parents won't worry so much. You don't cry as much, either.  
Right now, you're with the Thompsons in the marketplace. You watch Tony as he plays with a yo-yo, eyeing it intently. Dotty and Bob are looking at stuff at a stand to your left. You look up at the sky, blue and bright. You've been trying to tell yourself that you shouldn't dwell on it, but you can't help it. It hurts that badly.  
Over the slight commotion of the market, you hear Tony inhale sharply. When you look down, you see him just barely stop himself from dropping his yo-yo. He's staring off across the grounds, so you follow his gaze and find two kids, a boy and a girl, just outside the estate that'd recently been sold there.  
The girl has very bright, yellow-blonde hair, and she's looking at some flowers in a planter. The boy has brown hair, and smiles as the girl smells the flowers. Both of them are pale with freckled faces, and they look around Tony's age.  
Speaking of Tony, he starts walking towards the two children, a smile starting to form on his face.  
You don't try to stop him, just watch and see what he does.  
Tony gets about halfway there and calls out to them, "Hey!"  
The two look at him strangely, but don't make any move towards him, and they don't say anything back.  
He still smiles at them, "It's me, Tony."  
The boy moves closer to the girl, taking her hand and trying to guide her away. She stops and picks up a suitcase, before following the boy in the opposite direction from Tony.  
You tilt your head a little, 'They look so familiar... Who-'  
Your thoughts are interrupted by a low whistle from Tony. You glance at him in confusion, which only grows when the two kids stop and turn to him.  
The two of them start to smile at him, and then it clicks.  
Your eyes widen, 'Anna... and Rudolph? But how!?'  
From around the fence, two more people arrive, one a tall man with dark hair, and the other a blonde-ish woman, just a bit shorter than the man.  
Immediately, your mind shifts to Frederick and Freda. 'Could it really be them?'  
They look over, and, when they see Dotty and Bob, and vice-versa, they all smile at each other.  
You bite your lip, looking around a bit. 'If it is them, then where's-' you stop mid-thought and gape. Right behind who you now believe to be Frederick and Freda, a young man strides onto the marketplace street.  
His hair is dark-brown, close to black, and tied at the back of his head. He's dressed in dark clothes, too.  
You feel like the wind's been knocked out of you, and you're finding it hard to breathe. 'Is that...' "...Gregory?" you barely whisper, still taken back by all of this.  
As if he'd heard you, the teenaged boy looks up and locks eyes with you. He looks a little surprised, but it doesn't show as much as you're sure it does on your own face.  
You jump slightly when Dotty places a hand on your shoulder, a happy smile on her face. "Go on, _____. I think this is what you've been waiting for."  
Looking from her to back across the grounds, you take a deep breath and nod.  
She releases your shoulder, watching quietly from Bob's side as you hesitantly cross the road towards the group.  
Your eyes don't waver in the least as you move forward, one step at a time.  
As if following your lead, the teenager starts towards you just as slowly.  
You stop about where Tony had, the boy doing the same about ten feet away.  
To your complete surprise, he murmurs over the passersby, "_____?"  
Small tears form at the corners of your eyes. You look him over briefly before meeting his gaze again. You take another shaky breath before willing yourself to respond. "I didn't forget about you."  
A look of realization comes to his face, quickly followed by one of relief. He breathes out, "_____..."  
Unable to hold back anymore, you rush forward and wrap your arms around his neck, holding tightly.  
His arms encircle your waist almost instantly, hugging you back and whispering apologies in your ear.  
You pick your head up from his shoulder, "You're here now-" You rest your hand against his cheek, "-and that's all that matters."  
Looking down into your eyes, he smiles, "I'm not going anywhere this time... that's a promise."  
For the first time in what feels like forever, you really, truly smile. "I'll hold you to it."  
His smile growing, he swiftly leans in and kisses you, his arms still holding you in place.  
Without even having to think about it, you return the kiss, pressing against him.  
When you separate, you grin up at him, "I was right."  
He smirks, though he's obviously a little confused. "About what?"  
You lean up so your lips are just barely touching his, "You're still a pretty-boy."  
Gregory's smirk only widens, right before he crashes his lips into yours again.  
People in the market who pass stare at the two of you kissing in the middle of the street, some of them muttering to each other about crazy teenagers and the like, but none of it phases you. You have your light back, and that's all that matters.


	28. Chapter 28

You fold the last of your tee-shirts and place them in the drawer with the rest, sighing in relief and collapsing on the bed shortly after. A wide smile is pretty much _etched_ into your face. 'This is the best day of my LIFE!' You glance around the ceiling of your new room, doing the happy-dance in your head all the while. Yes, your new room. Guess where? In the Sackville-Bagg's new place, that's where! As of today, as you've finally finished unpacking, you are officially living with the family of ex-vampires. You hadn't even brought it up when you re-introduced yourself to Freda and Frederick, and Gregory hadn't said anything, either. They just offered for you to come live with them, most likely because they remember everything about... yeah, that. Well, when they'd asked, Gregory was just a _liiiittle_ more than surprised, but you can probably guess how happy he was that you said yes.  
Anyhow, you lay there daydreaming, not really focusing AT ALL, but just kind of... dazed. 'Hmm... I wonder if I'm supposed to go to school, now. I mean, I'm not going to ask them about it, but I suppose they'll be sending Gregory, Rudolph, and Anna... So what do I-'  
"BOO!"  
"AAAAHH!!" You practically fly off the bed, landing flat on your ass on the floor. You growl as Gregory starts laughing at you from atop your bed. Without warning, you jump at him, successfully knocking him onto the floor, you pinning him down. "HA! In your face!" you tease, grinning childishly.  
He chuckles, "Fine, we're even."  
"Psh, what makes you think that?"  
He blinks at you, "Should I be afraid?"  
"Definitely," you answer, rolling off of him and standing up.  
He gets up shortly after you, sitting next to you on the bed. "So, I just spoke with Mother..." he starts.  
You eyes him curiously, "Yeeeaaaah?"  
"She and Father are planning to send you to the same high school as me. She asked me to let you know so it wouldn't be a complete surprise."  
'...'Cause I wasn't just thinking about that two minutes ago...' You shrug, "Fine by me. It'll be a first for both of us."  
He nods, "Sounds like it'll be interesting, since neither of us have any idea what it's like."  
"It's basically like this: You go, you sit at a little desk in a room, you listen to the teacher talk. Repeat six times. Then, go home and do the work they give you. That's about as basic as it gets."  
"...That sounds too easy," he observes.  
You laugh, "I'm pretty sure there's something I'm forgetting, but I'm confident we'll walk out alive."

(You poor, poor, naive soul. -_-)


	29. Chapter 29

You grip the strap of your messenger bag, slightly unnerved at the thought of being surrounded by so many other people for six hours. The wind blows gently, as if trying to comfort you. You take a breath and mentally scold yourself for being so nervous. 'Why should I be afraid? I'm a dhampir for god's sake! I'm being ridiculous.' You stand with Gregory at your side, waiting for the bus to come pick you up. Glancing at the pale boy, you notice that he's staring off into space, not paying attention in the least. You smirk and poke his side. You laugh when he jumps, whipping his head around to look at you.  
His expression goes from one of surprise, to a playful glare, "Must you do that every time I'm not paying attention?"  
"Of course, Dear-heart," you answer with an innocent smile. "I live solely for the moments when I can actually catch you off-guard."  
"Why?"  
"Because it rarely happens; I feel accomplished when I get you to jump, since you're always teasing _me_ about it."  
He rolls his eyes, but grins, "Don't blame me for your jumpiness."  
"Shaddap."  
He laughs and lays one arm across your shoulders, letting you have the last word and starting on a different topic. "Ready for your first day?"  
You snort, "No."  
He laughs, "Why not? It won't be that bad. Besides, it's not like we won't see each other during the day; we have first, third, fifth, and eighth period together, plus fourth period lunch."  
You look straight forward, away from him and at the approaching yellow monster known as the school bus. "Yeah, I guess."  
He kisses your cheek, "Not 'you _guess_', you _know._" He looks up as the vehicle stops and the driver opens the door for you both to get on. "Now let's go."  
With a sigh, you nod and climb the small steps and board the bus, Gregory right behind you. You sit near the front, so you can get off quicker. You figure you'll use all the time you can to find out where the _hell_ your classes are supposed to be.  
The door closes, and you're off to your new school: PHS-212, a.k.a. St. Proudmoore Public High-School.  
Joy.  
Already knowing that the other kids are staring at you and whispering from further back on the bus, you decide against turning around and flipping them off and, instead, take out your iPod and plug in your ear-buds. You put the left one in your ear and hold the right one out to Gregory, "Wanna listen?"  
He smirks, "I get to choose the song."  
You sigh and roll your eyes, feigning annoyance, "_Fine..._"  
He takes the ear-bud and your iPod and starts scrolling through the play-list.  
After he's picked one, you take the iPod back and laugh out loud at the song he'd picked. You shake your head, but lean your head against the window and let the music take over, smiling faintly as Gregory entwines his fingers with yours.

_I forgot to wear my cross tonight,  
I left my garlic at home...  
It's so dumb but it's so fun to,  
Wander around the city alone.  
I'm runnin', fallin' down,  
Chase me all over this town,  
And now you've finally got me,  
What am I to do?_

At this point, you smirk and start mouthing the lyrics.

_Oh, Oh, Oh,  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love, so just,  
Bite me, Baby,  
And drink all my blood,  
Oh yeah!  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love with you.  
So do what you want to do.  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love, so just,  
Bite me, Baby,  
And drink all my blood,  
Oh yeah!  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love with you.  
As you need my plasma more than I do._

Glancing at Gregory, you see him smirking, obviously finding the song amusing. When he looks at you with one eyebrow arched, you just shrug before turning to look back out the window.

_Say, you wanna stop for a drink or two?  
Or maybe for a disco break here?  
We'll party all night until the sun comes up,  
You could say I'm raising the stakes.  
I'm runnin', fallin' down,  
Chase me all over this town,  
And now you've finally got me,  
What am I to do?  
Oh, Oh, Oh,  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love, so just,  
Bite me, Baby,  
__And drink all my blood,  
Oh yeah!  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love with you.  
So do what you want to do.  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love, so just,  
Bite me, Baby,  
And drink all my blood,  
Oh yeah!  
Sexy vampire,  
I'm falling in love with you.  
As you need my plasma more than I do._

You sigh again as the bus comes to a stop in the back parking lot of the school. You turn your iPod off, lock it, and unplug your ear-buds. Taking the one back from Gregory, you stuff them in your bag, along with your iPod, and let your boyfriend lead you off the bus and onto the curb surrounding the school.  
You look up at the rather large building, not really knowing what to expect.  
Seeing your hesitation, Gregory squeezes your hand slightly, trying to reassure you.  
You smile faintly and, with a nod, walk with him up the steps into the building. Right after walking through the door, the other kids are already staring at you. A lot of the girls are looking you over and scowling, like you're so much lower than them. You also notice that once they see Gregory, they start whispering to each other excitedly, smiling uncontrollably. You glare at them, 'I swear, if one of them tries to hit on him, I might just punch them...'


	30. Chapter 30

You feel Gregory's grip on your hand tighten, so you look at him, only he's not looking back. You follow his gaze and see three guys, most likely jocks, eyeing you with smiles on their faces. You blush when one of them winks at you, and you turn and look in front of you, lightly squeezing Gregory's hand. "Ignore them; they're idiots," you whisper.  
He turns to you briefly, but watches the three boys carefully, "Yeah, alright."  
You smile to yourself, 'He's so protective of me... But then again, I guess I'm pretty protective of him, too.'  
You manage to get him to look away from the jocks, pulling him down the hallway your lockers are supposed to be in. '152, 153... 162's down this way...' you muse, feeling slightly accomplished that you can remember your locker number, as well as Gregory's. 'Ah, here it is!' You stop and turn to Gregory, "Here's your locker," you knock on it with your knuckle. "Mine's three down," you point to it.  
He nods, pulling back his sleeve and revealing his combination. He lets go of your hand and starts turning the dial while reading the numbers off his arm.  
You giggle slightly, making him look at you again.  
"What?"  
"You wrote it on your arm?" you tease.  
He just kind of looks at you, "...Well, how would I remember it? The woman in the office just read it off."  
You shake your head and, with a tiny smirk, walk over to your own locker. You turn the dial swiftly, stopping on the final digit and pushing up the lock, pulling the door open. You look back at your beloved ex-vampire, trying to turn your smirk into an innocent smile.  
He just stares at you, his mouth slightly open like he wants to say something, but he closes it and scowls at you. "Shut up," he mutters, going back to attempting to open his locker.  
You laugh at his remark, "I didn't say anything, Gregory."  
"You were thinking it."  
"So you're psychic now?"  
"I don't need to be."  
You suppress another laugh, but fail as he tries unsuccessfully to open the door. Shaking your head again, you gently grab his shoulder, motioning for him to step back.  
Looking between you and the locker, he does so, letting you step up to it.  
Again, you skillfully turn the dial to the correct numbers, barely stopping on each one. As you come to the last one, you push the lock up and easily swing the door open. You turn back to Gregory with a wide smile, trying not to laugh at the look on his face.  
"...I'm not even going to ask how you remembered my combination," he says, before putting a couple of notebooks in the locker.  
You giggle, "Just takes practice. You'll get there." You then retreat to your locker and put some of your things inside as well, shutting and locking the door afterwards.  
"I know for a fact that you haven't had any _practice._ How come you can do it?"  
You shrug, "I'm good like that."  
He sighs, "Whatever..." and turns back down the hallway, walking in the general direction of your first period class.  
You run after him, wrapping your arm around him while coming up at his side, "Don't be mad. I'm sure there are things you can do easily that I can't. Opening a locker just isn't one of them."  
He glances down at you and rolls his eyes, but the effect is ruined by the smile that's made its way to his face, "Sure, _____." He puts an arm over your shoulders, keeping you close to him as you both head off to Photography I, your first class of the day.


	31. Chapter 31

'Hmm... not too many people... Cool!' you think happily as you enter the Photography room, which looks like a regular classroom, save for the computers around the walls. There's also another room connected to it, but you can't quite see what's in there from where you are.

"Ah, you must be the new students!"

You and Gregory both turn to the source of the voice, who you can only guess is your teacher. You put on a polite smile, "Yeah, that's us."

The somewhat small woman smiles a genuinely happy, friendly grin, "I'm Ms. Richards. You-" she looks at you specifically, "-if I'm not mistaken, are _____ ______."

You can already tell she's truly nice, not pretending to be happy to see the two of you, so you grin back and nod.

She then looks at Gregory, "And that would mean that you're Gregory, right? Gregory Sackville-Bagg?"

His reaction is about the same as yours, and he smiles in response, "Yes, that's right. Nice to meet you, Ms. Richards."

"Same to both of you," she replies. She then gestures to the room behind her, "Well, go ahead and find yourselves a place to sit. Anywhere will do, as the students usually don't sit for very long. We're always working on something here." She pauses and, as if remembering something, turns back to the two of you. "Oh, and let me be the first to officially welcome you to the school. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

You glance at Gregory before answering, "Will do, Ms. Richards. Thank-you."

That being said, you both put your stuff down at one of the smaller tables, taking two of the three chairs seated around it. "I like her," you say randomly. "And that's saying something."

He chuckles at your comment, "I know what you mean. She's very energetic, that's for sure."

"She needs to be; she teaches teenagers," you mutter.

He laughs, but nods in agreement. He reaches over and takes your hand, playing with your fingers absently. "So, first impressions?"  
You glance around, "Well, a lot of the kids are staring at us... I'm going to assume that the teacher's the only nice one in this whole room."  
He chuckles, "Maybe. I guess we'll find out, won't we?"  
"Hm... Well, look at that, you have more admirers over there, Gregory," You comment, discreetly nodding towards the other side of the room.  
He subtly looks in that direction, then looks at you in confusion, "Those girls look... sort of ticked."  
"Yeah, at me."  
This confuses him, "Why?"  
You shrug, "Probably because you're holding my hand. I'm pretty sure they think that I'll spontaneously combust or something if they keep glaring at me."  
He laughs, "It wouldn't surprise me if you _could_ spontaneously combust."  
You look up in thought, "Hmm... Dunno. I've never tried before."  
He laughs again, "I can't believe we're talking about this."  
You laugh with him, "Wow, you're right. I think we've just reached an all new level of special, Gregory."


	32. Chapter 32

*Shnick*

*CLICK*

...

*Shnick*

*CLICK*

...

*Shnick*

*CLICK*

"Oh my God, Gregory, don't make me take that thing away from you..." you threaten, looking at him with narrowed eyes as he continues playing with the camera.  
He just keeps messing with it, staring at it as though he were hypnotized. "I can't help it... It's so cool."  
With a sigh, you grab it and put it back in its bag, muttering to yourself, "Like a kid with a new toy..."  
He chuckles, taking the bag back from you and putting it with his things. "So what's wrong? You seem... irritable. More so than usual."  
You give him a look, "...What's that supposed to mean?"  
He laughs again from his side of the lunch table you two had claimed outside. "I'm joking, _____. But you are a little off, you know. ...What's the matter?"  
You fold your arms on the table and rest your chin on them, "I dunno... I guess I'm just not used to being around so many people. I mean, I've been virtually isolated from human beings for most of my life. It's weird."  
Gregory smiles softly, "Yeah, I know the feeling."  
You return the smile, then glance around for anyone within earshot. You lower your voice a little, "Gregory... do you remember when you and your family were staying with me? In that old house?"  
A little confused by the sudden change in topic, he nods slowly, "Yeah, I do. Why?"  
You take a breath out of hesitation, "Well, I was wondering if you still wanted to be... like me."  
Realization flickers in his eyes, and you know he understands what you mean. He props up his elbow on the table and rests his head in his hand. "I haven't really been thinking about it much. To be honest, I'd forgotten about that until just now." He looks at you now, "Why? Do you not want to go through with it?"  
You sigh, "I just... I think you're making a big mistake. Once I bite you, there's no going back. You'll never be human again, at least not completely. And your parents, hell, they'll be pissed... They might not forgive you, or me for that matter, since it'll be my fault." You look down at the wooden table, mulling everything over. "...And honestly, Gregory, I don't want to be responsible for taking your humanity away from you. I know I already agreed to it, and if it's what you really want, then I'll do it, but I just thought I'd talk to you about it first."  
He's silent for a few seconds, but he reaches across the table and lightly strokes your cheek with his fingertips. "It really bothers you, doesn't it?"  
You look up until your eyes meet his, "Well, yeah. I don't want to subject you to the life I'm already living when you don't have to..."  
He looks like he's deep in thought at your words. "Just tell me this, _____," he starts. "...You age at the same pace humans do, right?"  
Your forehead scrunching up in confusion, you nod, "Yeah, I'm only as old as I look; fifteen. Why?"  
He thinks about something for another few seconds, "Then I guess... I don't really have to change, do I?"  
You sit up straight, "Well, I didn't think you _had_ to in the first place... What does how fast I age have to do with anything?"  
He gives a half-smile, "If my being human meant that I would get old while you stayed young, there would be nothing stopping me from becoming a half-vampire."  
You process this, "So, you were going to change... because you were worried about me outliving you? You were ready to give up your life with your family, your humanity... just to be with me?"  
He nods slightly, "You were the only one to ever understand me. My parents don't even know me as well as you do, and I've known you for such a short time... If it meant staying with you longer, then I would've done it. Still would, too."  
You smile at him, your face slightly red. "...Thanks. That's really sweet, Gregory..." You laugh a little and lightly punch his arm, "Even though I still think that's a bad reason to chuck your life out the window."  
He chuckles, "Think what you want, it's a good reason to me."

*_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*_

You sigh, gathering up your stuff.  
Gregory does the same, then walks to your side as you both make your way inside.


	33. Chapter 33

You sigh for what feels like the millionth time in the past five minutes. "I can't believe you got into a fight on your first day..."  
Gregory rolls his eyes, still pressing the ice-pack to his cheek, "What was I supposed to do? Just stand there and let those idiots hit on you like that?" Yep, those jocks that'd been eyeing you when you first arrived came up to you at your locker and started being perverted. It didn't take long for Gregory to lose his patience and swing at one of them. While you feel pretty damn special that he gets so protective of you, you really wish he'd learn to control that temper of his.  
"No, but you didn't have to punch the guy. What do you think would happen if I went after every girl that fawned over you? Lemme sum it up for you: there'd be 40% _less_ girls at school, and 40% _more_ at the local hospital, and that's only because the other 60% haven't met you yet. Otherwise, those numbers would be higher..."  
He chuckles, giving you a lopsided grin, "But you're not going to do that, are you?"  
"Oh no, because I'm such a good little girl," you say sarcastically. "You're just lucky it was after school and no one else saw you, otherwise you'd be expelled. That would really, REALLY suck, since you've only been in school one day."  
He rolls his eyes, "Expelled? I doubt that. Besides, I could've easily said that they'd ganged up on me. After all, we're the new kids, remember? They have no reason to think that either one of us would lie."  
"Whatever. You're also lucky that your parents aren't home to see this. You don't need me to tell you that your father would FLIP OUT if you got into a fight at school," you point out. "Here, lemme see..." You gently move the ice-pack away from his face, "Well, it's not too bad. Let me know when it stops hurting and I'll try to channel some of my healing energy to get rid of the bruise."  
He nods, replacing the ice-pack. "You know, I'm a little surprised you didn't turn around and punch one of them yourself."  
"It took restraint, believe me. You have no idea how badly I wanted to knock their teeth out."  
He chuckles, "I think I do."  
Anna and Rudolph come downstairs and sit next to you on the couch. Rudolph eyes his brother, "Does it still hurt?"  
Gregory nods, "Not much though. It'll be alright."  
Anna smiles, "I had no idea you could be so heroic, Gregory."  
You barely suppress a snort of laughter, looking away from Gregory.  
He narrows his eyes at you, but says nothing in reply to his sister's comment.  
To make up for your laughing, you smile and look at Anna, "Neither did I." You do your best to keep the laughter out of your voice, "I mean, I knew the things those guys were saying would bug him, but I didn't think he'd get into a fight. I feel pretty special." You look at him with an innocent smile, at which he rolls his eyes while smirking.  
Anna giggles, while Rudolph shakes his head, "I don't think I'll ever understand these things."  
You smile and ruffle his hair, "Oh believe me, Rudolph, you will. Just give it time. It might seem weird now, but by the time you're in high school, you'll be just like your big brother. ...Well... hopefully not _exactly_ like him, but you know what I mean."  
Gregory playfully shoves you, a smirk still on his face.  
You just laugh, "Alright, let me see the bruise."  
He puts the ice-pack down next to him and faces you.  
"Yeah, like I said, it's not too bad. Well, here goes," you murmur the last part, then close your eyes and focus your healing powers to your hand.  
"Cool..." Rudolph mutters.  
You open your eyes and find that your hand is glowing light blue. You very, VERY carefully press your palm to Gregory's cheek over the bruise.  
He exhales, closing his eyes.  
Guessing that the healing is already working, you just hold your hand there for a few seconds before withdrawing it. The glow disappears, just like the bruise has. You smile, "Better?"  
He gingerly touches his cheek, then smiles back, "Yeah. Thanks."  
"No problem," you chirp, happy to have helped.  
Anna's eyes are wide now, "That's amazing, _____!"  
You chuckle, "Um, thanks. It's just one of those things I can do, I guess. No biggie."  
At that moment, Freda and Frederick come through the front door. Frederick immediately notices the four of you on the couch. He gives you all a strange look, "...What have you four been up to?"  
Gregory subtly leans over so his body is blocking the ice-pack from view.  
Thinking quickly, you smile, "Nothing, really. Gregory and I were telling Rudolph and Anna what high school's like, that's all."  
Freda grins, "Ah, how was it? Did you make any new friends?"  
You shrug, "Not really, but it's only the first day. We'll probably meet more people once everyone knows us. I didn't think it was that bad, though." You glance at Gregory, "Right?"  
He nods, smiling at his mother.  
She seems pleased with the answer, "Well that's good. And what about you two? Rudolph, Anna?"  
Anna grins, "Oh, Mother it's wonderful! We're in Tony's class!"  
You smirk at her, though she doesn't see it. She's too wrapped up in her happiness. 'Rudolph might not understand love and all that, but I bet Anna does...' You get up and make for the stairs, "Well, if anyone needs me, I'll be doing my homework in my room." You then head up and slip into your room, shutting the door behind you.


	34. ATTENTION

Alright, firstly, I am SO SUPER-DUPER sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. Things are really crazy right now, and I sort of lost interest in the story for a while. I've been thinking about it a lot. Some of you are probably like, "Oh, no! She's gonna discontinue the story!" But, I promise you, I'm not just chucking this story out the window. I like it too much to do that, and I'd be a terrible person to let the readers down that way.  
Instead, to rekindle my devotion to the series, I'm going back and revising it (a.k.a. making it BETTER). I'm not changing anything dramatically, just improving my writing style. I've come a long way in how I write, so if I just start adding chapters again, it would be totally different from what's already up. So, I'm going back and Re-Vamping the whole thing (Hehe... Re-_Vamp_. Pun.)  
Once I've revised the whole thing, I'll start adding again. Not all of the chapters have to be improved, but most of them do. I went back and read some of them and was like, "What the hell was I thinking?" So, hopefully, this will not only get me back into the story, but also make it better for you, the readers.  
Additionally, if you have suggestions regarding material for upcoming chapters, PLEASE don't be shy. Just send me a message with your idea. Even if I don't use your idea exactly the way you give it to me, it might get the gears turning so I can put out more chapters. I will credit you for the idea by noting it in the memo of that chapter.  
Thanks for being faithful to the story, everyone. Again, I'm truly sorry for leaving it to collect cobwebs for this long! Please forgive me!

P.S. I'm changing the Point of View from 2nd person to 1st person. There will still be a _ in place of a name, but writing in 1st person just makes more sense to me. It also seems to be a little more popular than 2nd person, and I want to make this story as enjoyable as possible. I hope this doesn't make anyone too unhappy...


End file.
